Moscow Has Fallen
by EmbersOfLife
Summary: "What is my purpose in life?" I always tried to answer that question and eventually that answer came in the form of a letter from an anonymous being. It wasn't for my family's knowledge though; it was specifically addressed for "Donatello's eyes only" but little did I know that the contents inside would change my life forever.' SAINW: The untold story of Donatello's disappearance.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome! If you're new to me as an author than I have a few things to go over before I begin. First of all, this Fic takes place in the 2k3 universe (2003 version). Second, I use this symbol :: to represent a jump in time or perspective (I will also tell you the POV each chapter is in). I would also like to thank my, **_**I, Erasmus**_** fans for pointing out how annoying it was trying to figure it out lol. **

**If you've seen the TMNT 2k3 episode "Same as it never was" you'll know that this Fic is based on why Donatello left his brothers. If you haven't seen it, it doesn't matter because everything will be explained in the Fic. I guess that's about it and if I think of anything else to say then I will let you know. Enjoy! Your input is much appreciated BTW! **

**The beautiful cover photo is by Luminoire on deviantart. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT, just any OC's that may or may not jump in. **

: Chapter 1:

**(Donatello's POV)**

I was a mutant, a creature that was nothing more than an unfortunate animal that needed to be executed in order to restore peace to the earth. My brothers kept trying to tell me I was unique like them, made for a reason. I use to think to myself, "How could we be unique if we were the only ones of our kind?" I always tried to answer that question and eventually that answer came in the form of a letter from an anonymous being. It wasn't for my family's knowledge though; it was specifically addressed for "Donatello's eyes only." Whoever this person was, who were they? And how did they know I existed?

My name is Donatello if you haven't figured that out already. My brothers and I were mutated after a truck full of mutagen crashed and littered the sewers with the extremely radioactive material. It ended up turning four baby turtles into mutants within a few days along with the rat we now call our father. He took us in under his wings and rose us his own and even taught us the ways of Bushido, an ancient Japanese battle art.

My brothers and I accomplished great things during our years as teenagers. We defeated countless numbers of enemies who tried to destroy the earth and even killed one of our arch nemeses and his gang, Hun and the Purple dragons. Yet, as the years dragged on and we reached well into our mid-twenties, our home lives started to go downhill. Our once marvelous leader, Leonardo, became so solitary that it almost hurt me to even look at him in the eye whenever he came home from whatever he did at night. Every time I saw him he had a new set of scars somewhere on his body from doing God knows what. Raphael the same, we never saw much of him at all and it was like a family reunion was in store whenever he would finally show up. His visits were short lived though. He would usually only return to bump money off us or collect a free meal but he was still our brother and we loved having him, at least I did anyway. Leo and Raph fought like they had never fought before and usually it ended up with someone getting hurt. I figured that was why they were never around, to keep from killing each other.

I suppose the worst transformation I've seen any of my brothers go through was Michelangelo's. I couldn't have believed that such a happy, free spirit could go from "no cares in the world", to straight up serious and lethal. No more video games no more comic books, he was so different, and I hated it. His voice even went down what seemed like a hundred octaves and it was like he practically turned into man overnight.

As for me, I eventually had to go down the same path that my brothers did so I figured I should have probably gotten over with it as soon as I could. I too grew apart from them and spent most of my time doing research and coming up with new weapons and supplies that could be used in the military. I sold them online as anonymous and pretended that I had a Master's degree in Aerodynamics and Weapons Manufacturing so people would use them, which they did. I was the main source of income for this family while everyone else kept to their own devices and such. I guess their un-appreciation for me and all the hard work I did for them is what ultimately drove me to leave.

So here I sit, with this envelope in my hands, wondering what contents await me inside.

"What is that Donatello?" Master Splinter, the only one who changed the least in the last decade, walked up to me with a concerning look on his face. I hid the small yellow envelope behind my back and pretended that the letter didn't exist.

"Ah you know just, checking my email."

"Without a computer?" He cocked his old, wrinkled head.

"Ummm…" I never was the one who was good at lying. "Yes?"

Splinter calmly held his hand out to me in disbelief. I sighed and pulled my hands out from behind my back and placed the envelope in his furry paws. I hadn't even opened it yet so I hoped that whatever was in there was appropriate.

"It is from Russia."

"Russia?!" I swiped the envelope back from his grasp and ripped the seal open. "I don't know anyone in Russia."

"Sure thing Dr. Rosenberg." Mikey walked up to us with a glass of milk in his hands.

"Don't you have something better to do Michelangelo?" I tried to shoo him away.

"What like snoop around in your business?"

"Boys, enough fighting." Splinter demanded. "Donatello, proceed."

I gently pulled out the contents inside the envelope and sat down at my desk. I was afraid to open it with these two staring down on me like vultures just in case it was something important that I didn't need them to know about. I carefully opened the stack of folded papers and began to read the letter from the first page in my head.

_Professor Hamato Donatello,_

_Upon an urgent matter that is currently taking place in Moscow, Russia, we are requesting your assistance immediately. You're failure to comply in the next 24 hours will result in your removal from New York City, and you're transportation to Moscow by force. Your airline tickets are provided in the folded section of this envelope and your plane will be departing at exactly 6:00 am at the Brooklyn airport. You are expected to pack lightly as all living necessities will be provided for you. You are to travel alone and all extra guests will be imprisoned immediately. Upon your arrival, one of our top assistants will be waiting to take you to your living quarters and will be able to provide you with more information. _

_Head of Organization, Doctor E. Lemming_

"Oh God…" My heart was racing and my palms had become drenched with sweat. I could feel myself shaking and eventually Splinter me after I had lost my balance and collapsed into Michelangelo's arms.

"What is it Don?" My brother asked in a worried tone.

"Nothing Mikey…I'm fine." After I was able to stand back up, I quickly grabbed the envelope and checked for the tickets that this person claimed to exist. Sure enough, there it was passport and everything. "It was just someone complimenting my work on the…stuff." I couldn't even think I was so out of it. Was this person seriously going to kidnap me if I didn't drive to the airport and fly all the way across the world to Moscow? I sure wasn't going to wait and find out though. The fancy seal at the bottom of the letter that read "E. Lemming MMC" proved to be legit as well. This was real, almost too real.

"Do you need to lay down my son?" Splinter asked me. I looked at my wrist and read the time the best my blurry eyes would allow me to. The plane leaves in 3 hours. That should give me enough time to get around and head to Brooklyn without being noticed by my brothers.

"Yeah, I'll just, go to my room and take a quick rest." I allowed Michelangelo to escort me to my room and help me to my little mattress on the floor.

"You sure you're alright bro?" He asked in his deep tone of voice.

"Yeah, I just need to get a little shut eye that's all." I pretended to close my eyes and fall asleep until he finally left the room.

"Holler if you need anything." Once I heard the door close behind him, I jumped out of bed and grabbed my suitcase. This Lemming person told me to pack lightly but I sure as hell wasn't leaving my weapons behind. I packed an extra pair of throwing stars and my retractable Bo-Staff that would easily fit inside my little suitcase. In another bag, which was the duffel bag I always carried with me, I packed my first aid kit, a toothbrush, toothpaste and a small wooden frame from off my dresser. Before I put it into my bag, I took a minute and closely examined what picture was printed on the front of it. It was our family long before it practically fell apart. Michelangelo, Leonardo and even Raphael were all smiling while I tried to hold out the camera far enough to get us all in the picture. It was a silly little thing, but it was practically the only thing I had left that reminded me of what things use to be like around here.

After I packed the rest of my lab supplies into the duffel bag, I zipped it up and put both of the bags next to each other by the door. I debated if whether or not I should leave a note or something for my brothers to read concerning my whereabouts but I figured it would be easier on them if I didn't. I wouldn't want them coming to look for me even though I'm sure they'll try anyway. Once I had everything packed that I thought I would need, I grabbed my tan trench coat and hat from the rack on my wall and carefully slipped them on. For a while I just stared at myself in the little cracked mirror I had hanging there and looked at what a decade of working in the lab can do to a guy. My fingers were cracked and dry from overuse and even stained different colors from countless numbers of harmful chemicals that were spilt on them. My face still looked the same despite the few battle scars I bore on it. My purple bandanna was practically undestroyed since I always had a spare in hand if the other one got destroyed. I still looked like my old teenage self, but I guess my thinking process was most changed. Leaving without telling anyone where I was going, that wasn't like me but I had to do it, for their sake.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." I said to myself. Lemming sounded legit though, like he really needed my help in Moscow but the only out of the ordinary thing was that he knew my first _and_ last name. The only other person who knew that would be the Shredder. After I realized this, I started to second guess my decision to go yet I really didn't want to find out what would happen in 24 hours.

"Alright Lemming, let's see if you actually exist." I sat down at my desk and brought my small laptop to life. I typed in "E. Lemming" in the search bar and was surprised at the results. My Russian was a little rusty around the edges but I was able to translate the website I was brought to. He was real alright, and he was the head of a Russian organization known as the "Moscow Mutant Control." I suppose that explains the MMC on the seal at the bottom of the letter. That's all this website would tell me though. Everything else required a password and I really didn't feel like hacking into my own computer today. So the only reason I'm deciding to go is because of a bonafide seal and a passport with an airline ticket. So when this turns out to be a trap and I'm killed, I would like my gravestone to say "Here lays idiot, killed by his own curiosity."

I grabbed my bags and slowly opened the door to my room. Everyone must have gone to bed since all the lights were turned out and not a noise could be heard from downstairs. I carefully stalked down the steps and made my way to the lair's exit. Before I walked out, I turned around and sighed deeply at the old, cracked place I will always call "home." I had no idea when I would be back and I hoped my brothers wouldn't kill each other before then. I knew they would hate me for this, but I technically had no choice and maybe my curiosity actually was getting the better of me.

"I love you guys, never forget it." I walked out the door and slowly let it close behind me. I made my way through the endless tunnels of the sewers until I reached the edge of Manhattan at the dark of the night. From there, I took the Brooklyn Bridge over and caught a cab to the airport.

"Where's a fellow like you headin at this hour?" He asked me in a British accent.

"I honestly have no idea." I answered. "Well I do know, but I don't know…you know?"

"It's too early to be thinking like that lad." He chuckled. "I had one of those times in my life; when I went out on a limb and explored the world. Look where it got me lad." He laughed again. I smiled but stayed silent and examined a row of photos he had running down his rear view mirror.

"Is that your family?" I asked.

"Yes sir. They're the love of my life." He said with an emotional tone. "You got a family lad?"

"I did…before the world caught up to them." I sighed.

"Family is one of the most important parts of bein' human lad. I learned that the hard way after I lost them in a car accident." He pointed to the row of photos and tightened his lips.

"I'm so sorry."

"It's hard for a man to find meaning to life without his loved ones to share it with. That's sort of what Manhattan is to me though, keeps me sane all these years."

This cab ride suddenly went from awkward to extremely emotional and depressing. I felt like this guy just wrapped up my entire life in a nutshell and threw it at me with excessive force. This entire trip to Russia is just going to be one big guilt trip that's what. If Lemming brought me all the way over there for no reason, I'll show him what a real pissed of mutant can do.

When we arrived at the airport the cab driver refused to take the money I owed him for the ride.

"Take care lad. I hope everything for you works out." He smiled and waved as he drove off into the dark night leaving a very confused turtle on the edge of the street. I put the bill bag into my wallet and headed over to the airport. It was almost time for the plane to depart; I made it just in time. I went through airline security and bag check and then handed my ticket to the receptionist who returned it with a strange look.

"So you're the passenger. That jet has been waiting in our docks for over 6 hours now." She said after handing me back my ticket.

"Jet? Like a _private _Jet?" I asked.

"Yes, it's here all the way from Russia. You better hurry though. Its captain is threatening to sue us for your tardiness." She pointed me in the right direction.

"Alright, thanks." I walked down the long hallway and met a well-dressed man by the doors to the loading docks.

"Hamato Donatello?" He said in a Russian accent. He recognized me? But I was in full costume.

"Yes?" I stiffened my posture after expecting him to pull out a dart gun and shoot me with it.

"Right this way, we've been expecting you." He opened the doors behind him and led me out into the cold night. He waved his hand in the air and immediately the Jet's engines started up and small door opened to the inside. "Please enter." His English was horrible but as long as I had the jest of what he was trying to say, I could make due. Once we boarded the extremely fancy aircraft, my bags were taken from me and an airline assistant offered to take my coat and hat.

"No thanks." I told her.

"It is alright Donatello; we know that you are a mutant. You may remove your cloak if you wish. Plus it will make our crew feel safer if you do." Another well-dressed man with dark sunglasses held his hand out to me. So these guys are scared of me?

"Sure, but I think I'm open for some answers in return." I slowly removed my hat and cloak and placed them in the female assistant's arms. She looked a little bit surprised at my appearance; no doubt she'll want a raise after this night.

"Now please sit down. All questions will be answered upon our arrival at Moscow."

First lie of the night, not off to a very good start guys. At least they allowed me to keep my Bo-Staff on hand but it seemed like someone was watching me from every angle.

"So what is it, 10 hour flight?" I asked while sitting down in a smooth, leather seat comfortably but still keeping a head count on everyone in the room.

"Jet travels quickly. We make it in 7 hours." Someone with even lesser English skills answered. Great, 7 hours in a room full of people that I'm still not sure are 100% friendly.

"When will I meet Lemming?" I looked to the first man I had met.

"In time." He said. I could see that this was going to be a very long and very sleepless 7 hours.

**I know that Hun doesn't die in the SAINW but I didn't think he really played a **_**major**_** role in the episode except that he was stuck to Baxter Stockman so I took him out. Hope you guys don't mind too much. How do you like it so far? Your feedback is SO appreciated good or bad!**

**This chapter was a teaser for what is about to come *:)***


	2. Chapter 2

: Chapter 2:

"We are arriving." There was a small tap on my shoulder that made my eyes snap open and my reflexes kick in. At first I had completely forgotten where I was and almost went full out ninja on these guys, but then I remembered I was on a Jet heading to Moscow. I'll be honest; I had been hoping that was only a dream, guess not.

I couldn't believe I had fallen asleep and allowed myself to be so vulnerable! Yet, I suppose the fact that I'm still alive says that perhaps they were telling the truth in the letter I received. I slowly sat up in the leather seat I was in and looked out the small circular window.

"Doesn't look like Moscow." I said with a growl.

"We cannot drop you directly in the city. You will be transported there after you get settled into your living quarters." One of the men said. "We are coming in for a landing." The man walked up to me and handed over my trench coat and hat that he instructed me to put on. Gee, was he going to dress me himself too?

The Jet bounced up and down as its wheels made contact with the runway. Once we had completely stopped the door opened and I was quickly escorted off. My bags were handed to me and two well-dressed personal walked me inside the airport. They each had small earpieces that were attached to their black suits with a spiral cord that they talked into in Russian. Too bad for them I'm familiar with the language.

"Has she arrived? I cannot stand being around this creature no longer." One of them had said.

"I beg your pardon?" I stopped walking and crossed my arms over my chest. He looked at me with a confused expression and then his face flushed red with embarrassment.

"Forgive me. I had forgotten you were the smart one." He said in English. "Things have been so chaotic around here lately and seeing one of your kind just…sets us on edge."

"What exactly is going on around here?" 'One of your kind?' What was that supposed to mean? I wanted answers and I wanted them now.

"All will be explained shortly." He said in Russian.

"I'm not leaving this spot until someone tells me exactly what I want to know!" I was beginning to grow impatient and extremely frustrated.

"What is it you wish to know then?" A female voice came from behind the two men. They slowly stepped to the side and revealed a young girl, probably a few years younger than I was, with dark brown hair and ocean blue eyes. She too, was dressed appropriately in a business uniform and also bore an earpiece with a spiral cord down to the collar of her shirt.

"Everything."

"We cannot talk here." Her English was much better than any others I've heard all day but there was still a hint of Russian in her voice.

"Well too bad." I held my ground. "You drug me 4,600 miles away from my home so I think I'm entitled to a few explanations."

"Alright then Donatello, what is it that you are so eager to find out that you can't wait a few minutes?" She said with a smug look. Alright, we're off to a good start I can see.

"What is going on in Moscow?" I asked. She hesitated for a minute while pulling a file out of a neat leather bag she had hanging around her shoulder.

"Moscow has been dominated by overwhelming amounts of mutations due to a chemical oil spill that took place just a few miles away from there. The people remained unaffected but the wildlife suffered an alternative fate. They became mutations, like you, except they're mindless and rampaging through the city all the while causing unfathomable amounts of destruction." She said with a sigh. "The Moscow Mutation Control, also known as the MMC, is trying their best to clean up the spill and contain the newly formed anomalies but progress is being short lived. That's why we asked you to come here."

"So I could clean up your mistake?"

"No, you're here to help our progression quicken and hopefully become more effective."

"How did you know about me?" I could tell she certainly hated all the questions I was throwing at her but I wasn't going anywhere until I knew everything I wanted to know. That was my Leonardo side kicking in of course.

"That I'm not answering right now but I will tell you this, our mutant crisis has been going on for several years now." She quickly turned around and walked away before I could ask any more questions. "Come on, I'll take you to your apartment, then I can answer the rest of your questions."

"Can you at least tell me who you are?!" I ran to catch up with her and her body guards.

"My name is Polaris and I work for the MMC. You could also say I'm the one who brought you here."

"You wrote that letter?"

"Yes, Dr. Lemming did have one of his own made out to you but I erased it and wrote the one you most recently received." She looked at me with a devious smile on her face.

"Can't you get in trouble for that?" I questioned.

"Yes, but his original copy wasn't forceful enough. I knew a person like you would take a lot of motivation to hop on a Jet and travel all this way."

"How in the world do you know all this stuff about me?!"

"All will be explained shortly."

"I wish you people would stop saying that."

After we departed from the airport, Polaris and I were driven to a location a few miles away from Moscow. It was a small town yet its current population seemed to be a bit out of the ordinary.

"Why are there so many people?" I asked while looking out the tinted window of the car.

"Many citizens have fled Moscow in fear of being killed by the mutants that now dwell there. They sought refuge here but many of the hotel workers are beginning to boycott since so many people are dirtying the rooms and their bosses are refusing to pay them more for the extra work. As a result, many people are left homeless and seek refuge on the streets." She frowned. "It's been like this for many years Donatello and people are finally getting tired of there being no solution to the problem."

"What about Warsaw? Aren't they helping you?"

She 'tsked' and shook her head. "The Warsaw has been as helpful as the bottom of a shoe."

"The UN hasn't offered help either?"

"They have no idea what goes on here."

"How do you keep something like a mutant breakout a secret from the UN?" This day couldn't possibly get any worse. I wish they would have told me all this before I decided to show up at the airport. My brothers and I probably would have been able to fight off the kidnappers she threatened to send after me if I didn't comply.

"Simple, most Warsaw members who know about our situation despise the UN so they keep quiet. Plus it helps that we keep most of Moscow's citizens under careful surveillance to make sure they don't leak information."

"I would hope you planned on seeking help from them if things didn't get better in the future."

"If we came to the conclusion that things were out of our control, then yes, we would have, but seeking help from those…dirt licking…"

"I'm American you know."

"Oh right, sorry Donatello. I'm not use to having outsiders with me."

"You can just call me Donnie." I sent her a reassuring smile. The ride through town was a slow moving one. Crowds of people were blocking our way to the apartment building and it appeared that our driver was about ready to start running people over if they didn't move.

"This may be as far as I can take you." He said in Russian.

"No worries, we will walk." She replied in the same rough sounding language. "I'm sorry; I hope the speaking in our native tongue doesn't offend you." She said to me.

"No it's ok, I speak it." I winked.

"Aren't you American?" She grinned.

"I assure you the stereotype that says 'All American's only speak one language' is false." I picked my bags up from out of the trunk of the car and kept a firm grip on them after Polaris advised me about the desperate citizens who try to snatch items off you.

"I can't blame them though. I think I would do the same if the world was going to Hell." She handed the driver a few bills and then lead me through the crowd. Since I was a tad on the claustrophobic side, you could imagine the suffering I was going through while trying to slip past crowds and crowds of people. On top of it, I was getting funny looks from most of them and even a few inappropriate hand gestures at times.

"What's wrong with everyone?" I asked Polaris.

"Nothing, but perhaps you may want to remove that pin from your hat once we get inside." She pointed to my head. The apartment was just outside the town and had a great few of the edge of Moscow in the distance.

"Here we are." She pulled a set of keys out of her leather bag and opened the door and allowed me inside first. "You're apartment 283, top floor." She handed me a single key and pushed me towards the stairs.

"Where are you staying?"

"I'm a few floors below you along with another team of MMC workers. We rented out this entire building in order to have enough room to work." She answered while following me up the steps. Once we made it to the top floor, I located room 283 and opened the door. It wasn't five stars but if you lived in the sewers for twenty something years, you would think this place was fit for a king.

"Will this do?" She asked while switching on the light that brought a small bulb on the ceiling to life. "I know it's no better than that old, beat down place you've been staying in…"

"Perhaps we could keep the insults to a minimal?" I put my bags down on the bed and removed my cloak. "You wanted me to take this off?" I pointed to the small American Flag pin on the side of my hat.

"I wasn't trying to insult you Donatello. The people are just…."

"It's fine. I get it, in a panic." I took the pin off and placed it in my duffel bag. For a while she just stood there and appeared to be gazing at me in awe. I really wanted to put my cloak back on as I was beginning to feel naked standing in front of her. "Is something wrong?"

"Nope."

"Good." I used my foot flip up a small, wooden chair that had been lying on the floor. "Have a seat then."

She sighed and sat down without question. "Ask away."

"First of all, how do you know me?" I started to unpack my things while listening to her talk.

"Once the mutant crisis broke out, the MMC was created in order to come up with a solution to the problem. Russia's finest scientists were brought together to find a cure but after a few months, they found themselves with having no such luck. I used to work for the secret police in Moscow but the MMC drafted and ordered me to find smarter, more intelligent people who could help with the cause. I immediately thought of this person online that our military purchased weapons off of, you."

"First of all, that's illegal."

"Would you let me finish?! Anyway, you thought you were so sneaky as to go by a fake name but I found you after MMC's top computer tech, hacked into your extremely, massive and powerful security systems, and found your location in New York, New York, U.S.A. So I proceed to find you, but first I had to make sure you were the right man for a job. Turned out you were a mutant."

"No one asked you to find me ok?!"

"I wasn't insulting you! I was actually glad you were a mutant with a sense of humanity, and a young one at that."

When I looked to her, she turned away and cleared her throat. "As I was saying, I watched you closely and also noticed you had three others who were like you, but they seemed to be…"

"Stop, skip over that part."

"Alright, so once I saw you were extremely intelligent _and_ you could fight with unfathomable amounts of skill, I knew I had to bring you here." She finished.

"What were you going to do if I refused to go?" I said in a sort of sassy tone.

"Tranquilize and transport you by force. There was no way around it Donatello, Russia needs you."

"Well I'm here. What do you need me to do?"

"I will let you rest first…" She began.

"No, if I sleep then the time difference screw up will get to my head. I'll sleep when the rest of you do."

"As you wish, we will head into Moscow first thing to meet with Dr. Lemming." She stood up from her chair and headed towards the door. "I've only seen a small portion of your battles…are you any good with that thing?" She pointed to the staff behind my shell. If the ceiling wasn't so close to the ground I would have given her a demonstration.

"I'm alright." I simply smiled. I didn't feel like showing off all that much right now anyway.

"I hope you're better than alright, getting into Moscow isn't the hard part, it's staying there."

**Ok the teaser was only suppose to be on chapter but THIS IS IT. I will see you...once publishing begins.**


	3. Chapter 3

: Chapter 3:

I ran quickly down the apartment stairs to meet Polaris at the entrance.

"What is that?" She pointed to my duffel bag.

"A bag? It has all my stuff in it." I patted it gently.

"What could a turtle possibly need?"

"Here we go again with the insults." I rolled my eyes.

"Give me that." She took my bag from me and started walking back up the stairs with it.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" I followed her trying to swipe my bag back.

"Donatello!" She quickly turned around and hushed me. "You don't need this!" She stuck one of her keys into a door, opened it up, and threw my bag inside, shutting the door behind her.

"Just who do you think you are?!"

"It will be here when you get back, alright? Now let's go." She grabbed ahold of my arm awkwardly, pulling me back down the stairs and out the door.

"I hope that was your room you threw my bag into."

"Yes, it was, now stop worrying. Quickly, we have to make it to the Moscow gate before dusk." She handed me a hat and scarf to keep warm with in the freezing air that was quickly settling over.

"A gate?" I asked while we walked along the empty road. "Is the whole city blocked off or something?"

"There is a very weak blockade set up around the entire city. We finally finished the project last month and it is constantly being strengthened in order to keep the mutants in and from spreading."

"So these things are contagious?" I asked.

"Some of the mutants still carry traces of the chemical spill on their skin. Until it dissolves into their bodies, it can easily be spread. By now, most of them are in the clear though I believe."

I could tell this was a touchy topic for her by the way she hesitated after each sentence. "Have you lost anyone to them?" I asked.

She sighed and pulled her hat down tighter on her head. "I haven't lost any family to the mutants but I have seen my comrades be consumed by them. Let me tell you Donatello, after you see something like that… it changes you forever."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." I was desperate to change the subject. "What about all the people inside? Or were they evacuated?" I said while watching the blockade become visible in the distance. It looked like it was made out of scrap metal and old, wrecked cars. However, just because it didn't look professional, didn't mean it was ineffective. "Hello?" I asked Polaris again after she didn't answer.

"Some of the citizens were too stubborn to leave, so they became trapped inside." She sighed. "We try to rescue as many as we can but sometimes it's pointless and a waste of time. Moscow's citizens are much attached to their city even if it is going straight to Hell."

The rest of the trip was done in silence as the sun began to go down. The huge city eventually engulfed my view and created a long shadow on the road.

"Stop here." She threw her hand against my plastron and then slowly walked forward without me. We were standing right in front of a giant, metal gate with two watch towers on either side of it. Unfortunately, inside those watchtowers, were two heavily armed Russian soldiers who looked less than pleased to see us. Polaris spoke to the men so quickly that even I couldn't translate what they were saying into an understandable language. I knew something was wrong when both of the men raised their semi-automatic weapons and aimed them at her. The one thing I did make out was the words "Hamato Donatello," spoken by Polaris. Immediately, they lowered their weapons and nodded to someone behind the gate on their side.

"Everything alright?" I asked her.

"Yes, but things have gotten worse since I left. The guards are just taking extra precautions concerning who they let in." She waved me forward and I slowly walked inside the gate behind her. The soldiers spoke slower now and I could make out what sounded like their apologies. "Come, we will be escorted to the MMC building. Vehicles are prohibited because we fear that they will stir the mutants, so we will be walking."

"Polaris! Glad you made it back ok." A deep, male voice came from behind us.

"Donatello, I would like you to meet Jinx." She pointed behind me and I slowly pivoted around until I was staring into the bright, blue eyes of something that was far from human.

"Woah…" I felt my jaw drop halfway to the ground.

"Woah yourself turtle boy." He crossed his arms over his chest and frowned.

He was a mutant, like me! "You're a mutant!" I smiled.

"Polaris thought you might be excited to see me considering you're a "techno geek" and all." He slowly walked around me and lifted his head up and down while examining my body. "You look like you're in pretty good shape." He slapped my arms, setting me off balance.

I couldn't believe it, another mutant! I guess my brothers and I weren't the only ones alive. He looked to be some sort of fox mutation and most of his orange furred body was covered with ammunition refills and holsters that carried different weapons. His snout was long and he bore a quite terrifying set of sharp, white teeth. He was muscular too, but it was nothing _too_ fantastic.

"Jinx is a very good friend of mine. He wasn't mutated during this outbreak though and his story is actually quite marvelous." Polaris smiled up at me, then at Jinx. "Perhaps you two can catch up while we head to the MMC?"

"Sure, come on let's go." He waved us forward underneath an arch that held another set of watch towers and yet another gate. After we were let inside, it looked like the apocalypse had hit Moscow head on. Everything was destroyed, cars, buildings and even the streets were nearly ripped to shreds by God knows what.

"Holy Shell…" It was too much to take in. The once beautiful city of Moscow looked to be nothing more than a bomb site. Along with that, it was extremely empty and lonely.

"You'll get used to it turtle boy." Jinx slapped one of his hands on my carapace. He reminded me a lot like Raphael with the way he spoke and the gestures he used when walking and talking. I guess it was nice to have a reminder of home just as long as he doesn't get on my nerves like my hotheaded brother does, or did, before he became what he is today. "Moscow used to be one of the most glorious places to live in. Now it's the talk of the Country and in a bad way too."

"So what do you do around here Jinx?" I asked him, slipping his hand off the back of my shell. He snarled and stepped between Polaris and me.

"I help wrangle the mutants and conduct rescue missions across the whole city. Polaris told everyone you were a pretty good fighter. I could use that." He said.

"Oh yeah? What else did Polaris tell you?"

"You kiddin'? Ever since she told the MMC that she might have found someone who would be able to help us, it was all anyone ever talked about. The only thing we looked forward to every week was her letters that came in the mail describing what you were like. I guess you're sort of a fad around here." He chuckled. As we continued to walk through the city, slowly the light that used to be leading our way practically vanished as the sun went down. "We have to move quicker." Jinx picked up the pace.

"Do most of them come out at night?" I asked.

"No, _all _of them come out at night now. They've gotten smarter over the years and are learning that if they come out during the day, they'll get killed. Some still are dumb enough to try though. Ever since they started to run the night, the mass numbers of them were too overwhelming for us. Now we stay inside until morning." We made a sharp left but we were quickly stopped after Jinx held his hands out.

"Oh no…" Polaris started to slowly back up.

"Everyone just stay calm alright?" Jinx said. Right in front of us with its back turned, was my first glimpse at what exactly had taken over Moscow. These weren't just mutations; they were beasts with limbs growing out of places that limbs should never grow and mysterious ooze dripping out of the pores of their wrinkled skin.

"It's a class "A" mutation. They're the weakest of them but he's blocking our path and we need to get through before its pitch black out here. Donatello, now's the chance to show off those skills you claim to possess." Jinx pulled out a crowbar from a bag that was draped across his chest and over his back.

"Won't making a lot of noise stir any others that are close by?" I asked while pulling out my Bo-Staff.

"Yes, so be quiet."

"Wait…let me handle this one." I slowly stepped away from the two of them and walked towards the unsuspecting beast.

"What's he gonna' do beat it to death?" I heard Jinx say from behind me. This is where the power of being a ninja comes in handy. I stopped a few feet away from the mutant and firmly placed one end of my Bo-Staff into the ground. I took a few steps back and bent my body downwards. After I figured I had enough power I leapt into the air, flying over top of the animal. Once I was at the right angle, I brought my staff down on the back of its neck, landing perfectly on the ground as it collapsed behind me.

"Holy shit." Polaris and Jinx ran up to me with their jaws dropped. "How did you do that Don?!"

"Shh!" Jinx hushed her.

"It's a…ninja thing." I spun the staff on my wrist. I loved the whistling sound it made whenever I got it going fast enough through the air.

"That was really impressive Donatello." Polaris was beaming from ear to ear but Jinx looked like he was ready to bite my head off. I sheathed my staff behind my back and then let angry looking fox take the lead.

"Show off." He said under his breath as he passed me. We were able to make it to the MMC building without any more mutant complications. In the distance though, you could hear the sounds of their screams and the unfortunate wreckage that got in their path that was shattered to pieces.

"This is it." Polaris led the way up the wide steps in front of the building and knocked viciously on the set of glass doors at the top. After a minute or so, the doors opened and we walked inside the chilly structure. Despite all the chaos that was happening outside, this building made it look like everything was fine and dandy. Besides the tinted windows that I figured were to keep out the light in, this place looked like a normal office building on a normal day. People were running around with files in their hands and speaking to each other through small earpieces that they had positioned on their heads.

"Welcome to MMC headquarters Donatello." Polaris smiled. Once people began to notice us, they stopped what they were doing and stared. After a few seconds, everyone in the lobby had stopped in their places and now glared right at us. "We're really happy to have you here." She said. After I began to imagine all the psychological torments these people must be going through being trapped in here 24/7 with nothing to do but research and work, I started to think that going outside would be a better ending for me.

"Don't worry, they're not all crazy." Jinx nudged me on the shoulder and then ordered everyone back to work. "Come on, Dr. Lemming is waiting for you upstairs."

We took a glass elevator all the way up to the top floor where nothing but a large, wooden reception desk was positioned in the middle of the room. There, a very intelligent looking woman was typing fiercely into her computer.

"We're here to see Lemming." Polaris said.

"He's busy." The lady said without looking up from her desk.

"Can you tell him Hamato Donatello is here to meet with him?" Polaris asked. This time, the woman looked up and moved the reading glasses off her eyes. A small smile crossed her face as she nodded at me. I couldn't help but smile myself; I never thought so many people would be this happy to see me and I'm just a mutant from the sewers of New York.

"Go on inside then." She pressed a button that opened a door next to the counter.

"Come in Come in!" A voice emerged from the room.

"Go on Donatello, we'll be out here waiting for you." Polaris smiled and gave me a meager nod. I took a few deep breaths and then fixed my hat and scarf neatly on my body. I shot Polaris one last glance before I finally walked into the room and let the door close behind me.

"Donatello, words cannot explain how happy I am to see you. My name is Dr. Elbert Lemming."

**Sorry, I know all this stuff is boring right now but it will make sense in the next chapters once everything picks up.**


	4. Chapter 4

: Chapter 4:

"Donatello! It's quite an honor to meet you at last!" A short and very well built man with neatly cropped brown hair walked up to me and briskly took my three-fingered hand in his. "We have lots to discuss. Can I get you anything? You must be exhausted from your long journey."

"I'm alright, thanks." I kindly refused his offer and took a seat on the other side of his desk.

"A guy who likes to get down to business, I like it." He sat down at his chair on the other side and pulled out a silver tray from somewhere below his desk. "As you're probably already well aware, Moscow is having a bit of a downfall here." He placed the tray of whiskey in front of me and offered me some. Once again, I kindly refused. "Trust me; this is the only stuff that keeps you sane around here." He poured some of the liquid into a glass and handed it to me.

"Thank you." I placed the glass in my lap for now.

"Moscow has what we like to call a "Chemical Evacuation Plant. It's just a few miles north of here and we use that factory to dispose of harmful chemicals that pollute our city from day to day. Unfortunately, three years ago we had one of the coldest winters we've ever had and the plant ended up freezing over and suffering from frost damage. The workers thought they had everything fixed but little did they know a small, very subtle crack had appeared on one of the chemical tanks in the factory. A few days later that tank exploded and polluted a stream that runs downhill from here to Moscow. The citizens were miraculously unharmed but the sewers, well, that was a completely different story." He took a sip from his glass and sighed before continuing. "All the animal life that dwelled down there, dogs, rats, cats and even fowl, they were all mutated into what they are now. We classify each mutant based on their coloring. We noticed that certain types of colored mutants are stronger than others. Jinx will go over that with you eventually." He finished off his beverage and filled it up with more whiskey. "So that's when the MMC was created. Russia's top scientists are all being held here and we've been trying to come up with a cure ever since. Donatello, we're desperate."

I leaned back in my chair and swirled the dirty brown liquid around in its glass prison. This was one of those times in my life when I wished my brothers had my back, telling me what to do and what was right. I missed them so much right now that it hurt.

"What do you need me to do?" I finally answered.

"We need a cure. We need something to stop the chemicals from spreading."

"Have you plugged the factory?" I asked.

"Yes of course."

"I don't believe you. If that factory was contained then those mutations would have died off by now from starvation. I'm sure whatever little food supply they started off with is depleted by now and I was told by Polaris that these creatures do in fact eat. Something tells me that the ones you're dealing with now are relatively new. I had the chance to observe one of the mutants and it definitely wasn't three years old, it was younger."

"What do you propose?"

"I want to see the factory. I want to do a full and proper examination of the perimeter and I want a sample of the chemical straight from the container that erupted, and then I'll need a sample from one of the animals it affected but it will have to be a young one."

"Go on…" Lemming folded his hands and leaned in close to me.

"Polaris told me that some of the mutants still carried traces of the radioactive material in their skin. If that's the case, then that means those ones are freshly mutated. I'll run a diagnostic test on the mutagen that was straight from the container, and on the mutagen that was on the animals. It's possible that the original substance may have mixed with something else that caused it to become radioactive and mutate the animals."

"I see what you're saying." Lemming nodded.

"If and only if, that's the case, then I'll be able to make a cure using the original mutagen and a bunch of other substances that I hope you have."

"If we don't have what you need, the hospital is just a few blocks away. I'm sure they'll have everything you require." He looked at me for a second and then gave a cheeky smile. "Polaris was right about you Donatello, I'm glad you decided to join us."

I was going to say "Because you _forced_ me to," but then I remembered what Polaris said about how she switched up the letter that got sent to me. So I simply nodded my head and took a sip of my drink, completely forgetting that it was whiskey. It burnt my throat the whole way down and I almost gagged all over Lemming's desk while trying to swallow the foul stuff.

"You alright son?" He chuckled. "We've got to harden you up don't we?"

"In terms of alcohol consumption, then yes." I put the glass back on his desk and tried to stomach whatever I had just thrown into it. "So, when can I get to the plant?"

"I'm going to begin constructing a minor team that can get you there safely. I hope you're not one of those people who insist on doing things alone, are you?" He asked.

"I trust that this city is too much for me to handle on my own. I'll take your word for it."

"You are the smart one indeed." He chuckled and pressed a button underneath his desk that made something behind me open. "Do you have any more questions?"

"No sir. I look forward to working with you." I reached out and shook his hand before getting up from my chair and exiting the room.

"How did it go?" Polaris walked up to me with an excited expression. Jinx followed her but kept the same smug look on his face that he always seemed to have.

"It went well I suppose. He's going to get a team to escort me to the spill site so I can make sure the perimeter is clear and get a sample of the original chemical before it made its way down to the city." I said.

"You think you got a cure?" Jinx asked.

"Not until I run tests on everything which could take a few weeks considering that I'm probably going to have to make a run to the hospital and get more supplies."

Polaris and Jinx looked at each other and then sighed like all hope was lost.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you know for sure that you'll_ have_ to go to the hospital?" Jinx scowled.

"Not until I take a look at your inventory, why?"

"The hospital is overrun. It's the most contaminated place in the entire city and most of the mutants hang out there during the day." Polaris said.

"Not to mention all mutants there are class C's." Jinx chimed in.

"Well, let's take a look at your stocks then." I suggested.

"Sure, this way." Polaris waved us to follow her. We went through a series of look-alike hallways and up a few flights of stairs before we finally reached what Polaris liked to call the 'Holy Grail.'

"All of our chemicals are kept here and we always have someone on the inside distributing the materials all over the building." She opened the steel door that led inside.

"Woah…impressive." There were rows and rows of chemicals, machinery, and any other kind of thing someone like me could possibly think of. It was like I died and went to geek heaven.

"Hello Ms. Polaris!" A very skimpy looking man with glasses that were too big for his face walked over to us and shook all our hands. "You must be Donatello Hamato!"

"In proper Japanese it would be pronounced 'Hamato Donatello.'" Polaris said.

"Sure thing! Sorry about that then." His English was fantastic and he sounded like he was practically from the states.

"Are you American?" I asked him after my curiosity got the better of me.

"Yes sir. I used to be a biology professor at UCLA until I took a vacation here and got trapped in by this mutant outbreak." He was definitely psychologically unstable. Don't ask me how I know either. "We all admire you Donatello. I used to be the head of the cure project until Lemming bumped me down to doing this work once you arrived."

"Cut that crap Morpheus, Donatello needs to take a look at everything we have and make sure what he needs is here. If not, we have to go to the hospital and pick it up." Jinx said.

"Sure thing! Tell me what are you looking for and I'll tell you if we have it." He smiled but I've seen those kinds of fake looks on people before.

"Well…" I rubbed the bottom of my chin with my hand and looked around the room. "I'll need a Bunsen burner, or any kind of burner will do I suppose."

"We have that." Morpheus said. "We have Erlenmeyer Flasks, test tubes, all that lab stuff."

"Do you have an Autoclave?" This was the one thing I really needed and I figured a hospital wouldn't have it.

"The Hell is that?" Jinx said.

"An Autoclave is used for extreme heating, pressurization and steam sterilization and unfortunately, our only Autoclave broke last week after an amateur decided to spill his drink on it and not clean it up properly." Morpheus said with a scowl.

"Do you still have it with you?" I asked.

"Yes, but its fried Donatello."

"I could fix it for you later if you show it to me."

"Alright, we can do that I suppose. Now what else do you think you'll need?" He folded his hands together.

"In order to get a good look at the mutagen, I'll probably need an atomic microscope."

"Geeze Don, you certainly require very expensive materials." Polaris chuckled.

"Do you want a cure or not?"

She held up her hands in defense and backed away.

"We do have one of those I believe but it's kept in the basement so human vibrations don't disturb the lenses and break them. I hope you've used one of those before because we don't have any spare lenses." I could tell Morpheus was beginning to grow irritated with me for some reason.

"I'm sure Donatello has plenty of experience Morpheus." Jinx growled. Well, wasn't this awkward.

"I'm probably going to have to use a Resin Cure. The Resin viscosity drops initially upon the application of heat, where the Autoclave comes in, passes through a region of maximum flow and begins to increase as the chemical reactions increase the average length and the degree of cross-linking between the constituent oligomers." I'm sure they really needed to know all that but I wanted to prove to Morpheus that I knew what I was doing. "In a nutshell, it can make the original mutagen do the opposite of what it already did by creating a gelatin."

"You'll need epoxy, vinylester and polyester to do that." Morpheus shook his head. "We don't have any of those things."

"Damnit." I heard Jinx say.

"Can't you think of another way since you're_ so_ smart?" Morpheus frowned.

"Morph, what's gotten into you?!" Polaris grabbed ahold of my arm.

"It's fine." I grabbed ahold of her hand and nodded for her to let go. "Once I run some tests I'll see if there's anything else I can try to do."

"You can run your tests in here if you want. We have a back room for you to work in too." He said.

"Thanks. Come on guys. If we think of anything else we'll let you know." Jinx and I followed Polaris out of the room and back into the hallway.

"What the Hell was all that about?" I crossed my arms over my plastron.

"Morpheus lied to you. He didn't get bumped down because you got here, there's a different reason." Jinx growled again but stopped after Polaris placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We can discuss it over dinner. Come on, we're having American food today just for you Don." We followed Polaris back down the way we came and into the main lobby. When I asked why it was completely empty she told me that everyone was in the cafeteria.

"You have organized meal routines?" I asked her.

"We try to stay as realistic as we can around here, it helps keep everyone sane. Having a scheduled meal time helps with that sort of thing."

The cafeteria was a huge, expensive, dome shaped place. The whole room was filled with at least 500 people and there was double that number of tables. I suppose the most miraculous part of the room was the windows that covered the entire area of the room except the floor.

"Holograms?" I asked.

"Yes, Morpheus designed them himself. They can mimic any kind of scenery you wish with a press of a button. Once again, just something else that helps us to stay calm during these rough times." Polaris smiled and pointed to a small podium in the middle of the room. "You can try it out if you want. I'll get your dinner for you."

"Thanks." I ran to the podium while they went to go stand in the long line that looped around the circular room. "Amazing." The windows were all in sync so that the image came out to be one full picture. The current one looked like Moscow before all the destruction happened.

I started to examine the machinery in front of me and noticed that there were two options, "Live" and "Still." "Let's see what this does." I pressed the "Live" setting and received a whole list of options to choose from by a touch screen. "Tokyo, Japan." I pressed the button and instantly the holograms changed and showed an aerial view of the city. It was so close to realistic it felt like you were actually there. You could see people walking on the streets, cars moving down below and you could even hear the faint sounds of their horns.

"Pretty cool huh?" A familiar voice came from behind me. It was Morpheus. "I have camera robots set up all over the world that video tape every scene I chose. If you don't want a live video, you can also choose a picture, like the one you just saw of Moscow. You want to see my favorite live scene?" He asked.

"Umm…sure." I stepped out of the way and let him take the controls. He pressed a few things on the screen and I watched as the window came to life. I gasped and felt the first wave of tears begin to settle over my eyes. The guilt of me leaving my brothers without telling them came over my body and made my legs wobble in place as I stared at the picture before me. I couldn't even begin to imagine the tortures they're probably going through trying to find out where I had gone and why. What if they got into serious trouble and I wasn't there to help them? What if they died and I never got to tell them how much I loved them?

"I've never visited the place, but I always like to remind myself of what it might be like." He grinned and then patted the back of my shell before walking off. I couldn't look at the picture any longer so I turned my head away and tried to clear my face of the tears that were falling from my cheeks.

"Don, you alright?" Jinx ran over to me. "Morpheus is a real asshole; don't let him get to you."

"Why did he get bumped down?" I asked with a sense of urgency in my voice.

"I'll explain once Polaris gets back." I saw him out of the corner of my eye toying with the podium. Slowly, the image of New York City changed back to the still life of Moscow.

**So far so good? Eh? lol I hope you SAINW lovers are liking all this. I already wrote a chapter where we jump back to NYC with the other brothers...I just won't tell you which chapter it is heheh. **


	5. Chapter 5

: Chapter 5:

Polaris said the American food that was being served today would cheer me up but the fact that it was my brother's and I favorite dish, it only made me feel worse.

"Come on Donatello you have to eat something. I haven't seen you put anything into your body since you got off the plane." Polaris pushed the plastic tray closer to me.

"I miss my brothers…"

"I know you do Donnie but you have to take care of yourself. You'll see them soon enough." She reached her hand across the table to touch my arm but I pulled away.

"This is all Morpheus fault! He's trying to throw him off track so he can't make the cure!" Jinx pushed his back into his seat and grunted. "I don't mean that in a bad way Don, I just think it's dumb that he did that to you."

"What do you have against Morpheus? I know he's a little crazy but he's no psychopath." Polaris said in disgust towards Jinx.

"Don't yah see it Polar? He's upset because Don's the new hero in town and he aint anymore."

"So what's the story behind this guy anyway?" I asked to try and get my mind off home.

"Before you came along, after the infection happened, Morpheus offered his services to the MMC once he was told he couldn't leave the country. He was loved by the people here and adored after he made the building secure from the outside world and even invented the holographic windows to keep everyone sane. He was also the head of the research operation and he invented so many new ways to treat the virus but all of them were what we called 'ineffective.' They worked for a while but then slowly all the once cured animals turned back into raging mutants. When he refused to dispose of his failed cure, Lemming bumped him down to 'Chemical Distributer' and then forced him to do it." Jinx explained.

"You can't be sure that he's actually angry at Donatello. Maybe he was just trying to make him happy by showing him New York and didn't realize it would upset him." Polaris stated.

"You're really defending that scumbag?! I'm telling you, that guy is a bad egg. He'll do anything to get attention including making Don look like an idiot."

"Listen, I don't want to be any trouble. I'm sure he didn't have any bad intentions ok?" I wanted to mention the dirty looks I received from him up in the chemical room but I didn't feel like worrying them too much. I wasn't 100% sure Morpheus was a bad guy anyway, just a little crazy in the head. "So…is there anything we can talk about that's positive?"

"You wanna talk about mutant classes?" Jinx offered.

"Sure."

"Alright, since I have the most experience on the battle ground, I'll explain. There are four different types of classes and each mutant is classified based on their skin coloring. We noticed over the years that different skin colors represent different strengths and weaknesses." He began. "A class "A" mutant is colored blue and is vulnerable to any kind of attack. That explains the luck you had with the one you fought not too long ago." He cleared his throat and accepted a rolling of the eyes from Polaris. "Class "B's" are a bit more challenging. They have light green skin and only weaknesses included a soft spot in the back of their heads."

"Do all mutants with the same colored skin look alike?" I asked.

"Yeah…why?"

"It's possible that each class is actually a different animal rather than a set of weaknesses. Lemming told me that any animals that could have gotten mutated in the city were dogs, rats, cats and birds."

"That's four." Polaris added. "And there are four classes."

"Now I see why Morpheus hates you Don." Jinx scowled. Polaris slammed her hands on the table a shot a look at the smirking fox. "I'm just saying." He leaned back in his chair. "Anyway, class "C's" are the ones that took over the hospital and if you're theory is right Don, then this pack is probably the birds since they have feathers all over their skin."

"Can they fly?" I asked.

"Not that I know of considering whenever we come across them they stay on the ground." He said in a confused manner. "Last but not least are the "D's" and just pray to God that they don't find you. None of our men have ever battled any of those monsters and made it out alive. We rarely see them though so don't get your panties in a bunch." Jinx said while taking a sip from his milk carton.

"So you said you would need samples from the mutants?" Polaris asked me.

"Yeah, but it doesn't matter which class. I just need the chemicals that you said drip off the skin of some of them."

"We'll were going to have a Hell of a time then aren't we turtle boy?" Jinx smirked. "Speaking off which, I'm curious to hear your story."

"My story?" I raised my brow.

"Yeah, about how you became, well, what you are now."

"Well…" I looked over to Polaris who was nodded her head at me. "If you really want to hear it…" Since dinner wasn't over for another 20 minutes anyway, I figured I could give them an outline of what happened. I began to tell them about my brother's and I lives as four baby turtles inside a local pet shop. I told them how a truck full of mutagen crashed on the side of the road and caused our buyer to drop us down a grate along with that life changing chemical. I was sure to be very descriptive about each of my brother's personalities and how miserable our lives would have been if Master Splinter hadn't found us and taught us the code of Bushido. The only thing I tried to stay away from was the topic of our transformation as we left our teens and entered adulthood. That alone, was just too much for me to explain at the moment.

"Very interesting Don." Polaris said.

"Yeah…" Jinx was slowly nodding his head up and down.

"You want to tell me yours now?" I grinned.

"I thought you'd never ask!" Jinx pushed his tray away and cracked his fingers. "After I was born, my owner got in trouble for having exotic pets in his home so I was taken away to a zoo to be cared for. Turns out, it was a zoo for crazy people and it was run by a bunch of mad scientists who acted a lot like Morpheus."

"Jinx, must you?" Polaris rolled her eyes.

"Quiet, I'm telling a story. Anyway, they ran a bunch of tests on me and did all sorts of crazy, scientific junk until I was almost practically an adult. Well one night, while I was sleeping in my kennel, I hear all these noises and screams and gunshots everywhere! The lab had been broken into by the police and they were clearing the area and releasing all the hostages. Once they opened my cage though, I took off and tried to find the exit all the while being chased by a cop. Unfortunately, what I thought was an exit, was actually the genetics laboratory. He and I fell right into a tub of genetic goop and our DNA got switched around so he became a human with a fox mutation and I became a fox with a human mutation."

"I didn't even know genetic swapping was possible!" I said, astounded.

"You really do like science, don't yah?"

"More then you could ever imagine." I smiled. "So what happened to the cop?"

"I'm not sure, I just took off after then but I'm pretty sure they shot him."

"How unfortunate." Polaris said.

"_Cafeteria closed. Report back to your stations."_ A loud voice boomed over the entire room. _"Hamato Donatello, Polaris Trent and Jinx please report to Mr. Lemming's office. Thank you."_

"That's our cue turtle boy." Jinx grabbed the pizza off my tray and handed it to me. Then, he pushed all our trays to the center of the table where they fell through a hole and disappeared. "Eat that will yah?" He pointed to the slice in my hand. "It's not like food is easy to get around here."

I nibbled on the pizza as the three of us headed upstairs to the where Lemming's office was. He immediately took all us in and had three chairs prepared at the front of his desk. I quickly finished off the pizza after he gave me a look of disgust.

"I know you're new around here Donatello, but try to finish your food during the scheduled time. You're mentor should have told you that." He stated. "The reason I brought you three here is because I have a team prepared to head to the Chemical Plant in the morning. You are to meet them in the front of the building at 6:00am sharp. Jinx, you will be joining them since you know your way around that place more than any of us. Polaris, I'll be placing you in the com-room here so you can help them in any way possible. Normally you would head back to your apartments to sleep but considering you're current situation, you may stay here until then. Are we clear?"

"Yes sir." We all said in sync.

"Now Donatello, Morpheus has informed me that you offered to fix a device of ours that broke. I forgot what he called it but I have to tell you that you do not have to do this considering we can't pay you for your service."

"It's alright. I need the Autoclave to help make the cure anyway."

"Ah yes that's what it was. I appreciate it Donatello, thank you. You three are free to head to your rooms if you like. Lights out at 7 o'clock, just like everyone else." He pressed a button underneath his desk that opened the door behind us. We got up from our seats and headed out of the office in a single file line.

"Don…" Polaris looked at me with an apologetic smile. "I thought we would get back to the apartments in time. If I knew he was having us stay I would have let you bring your bag."

"It's alright Polaris." I smiled back.

"Ok, goodnight boys." She waved at the two of us and then left the room.

"Where's she going?" I asked.

"To her room turtle boy." Jinx chuckled and motioned for me to follow him. "Come on, I guess you're staying with me till the morning."

I followed him to down a few staircases to an area he called the "sleeping chambers."

"Most of our workers live in apartments out of the city but whenever work is ruff, they stay here."

It was a series of hallways that looked_ exactly_ alike and each hallway had maybe a couple dozen doors with a number on the front of them in gold. I followed Jinx to what I assumed was his room and followed him in after he unlocked it with a key. It was a single room with a couch, a TV, and one wall was designated to one of Morpheus's holographic windows.

"You can sleep on the couch, I don't mind the floor." Jinx removed all the ammunition and weapons from his body and placed them on a small coffee table in the middle of the room. The only thing that remained was a belt looking thing that wrapped around his waist. Once he took that off, a long, orange tail with a white tip fell out and touched the floor.

"I was wondering where that was." I grinned.

"It kind of… gets in the way when I work. I almost got it chopped off by a mutant one time too." He grabbed a few blankets from a nearby closet, threw one to me and then placed the rest on the floor. "Well you gonna come in or not?" He tucked his tail around his body and then settled quietly onto the floor. "We got a big day tomorrow and you're gonna need you're beauty sleep. Hit the light over there will yah?"

I flicked off the light switch and made my way across the room to the couch and it was actually the most comfortable thing I think I've ever slept on in my entire life. I positioned myself so I could see the holographic window since I was probably going to have sleepless night. A small remote on the coffee table looked to be the one that controlled the window so I picked it up and began to browse the options. I surprised even myself when I chose the "Live" setting of New York City.

I sighed quietly while listening to the distant sounds of police sirens and car horns, the sounds I grew up loving as a child. The scene on the window was a first person view of a dark, quiet, downtown street. Bits of trash rolled across the road once and while and sometimes a car would drive by with its break lights facing me. I missed New York like you couldn't believe and was ready to go home before I practically killed myself from the guilt of leaving my family. I missed my brothers so much…so much. The last thing I remembered before I fell asleep was the small photograph I had in my duffel bag back at the apartment.

**Things are going to get intense from here on! I hope you're ready…**


	6. Chapter 6

: Chapter 6:

The next morning proved to be my first look at how difficult this job was going to be. Jinx and I met a group of about 6 or 7 heavily armed men in the lobby of the MMC building while Polaris was taken to what they called the "Com-Room" so she could communicate with us over an ear piece.

"Here you go gentlemen." The man who I presumed was to lead the team, handed Jinx and I a small headset with a microphone attached to the end of it. "My name is General Potts but you can just call me General or Sir." He was dressed in a military uniform along with his small team. They each had what looked like small machine guns and kept them attached to their bodies with a strap that went around their chests.

"Do you know the way to the plant General?" Jinx asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"Are you questioning my authority?" He asked while shifting positions. I couldn't help but giggle a bit to myself as Leonardo's face popped into my mind. After Jinx stayed silent for a few seconds, the General finally ordered his team out of the building.

"Do you have everything you'll need to collect you're samples?" Potts asked.

"Yes sir." I responded and patted the small test tubes I had in my belt.

"Good, because last time we checked a few mutants are still there so you'll have to move quickly."

"Wait, I thought all the mutants were contained in the city?!" Jinx placed one hand on his hip and the other on a holster.

"Before the Recycling Squadron was created, all mutants were thrown into the plant for safe keeping until they could be dealt with. We kept them locked up and completely forgot they were there until Lemming told me I had to take a pair of human mutants to go get samples." Potts urged us out the door while continuing to speak. "I lost count of how many were in there though."

"If we're lucky, _most_ of them should have died off by now." One of the solders said.

"Great...I love how you people wait to tell us these things at the last minute!" Jinx scowled.

"Hold position." Potts held his hand up once everyone was out of the MMC building and waiting on the front steps. A light blanket of fog was settling over the bottom of the city, giving it a horrifying texture. "All weapons at the ready, the mutants like to lurk at his hour in the morning."

I pulled out my Bo-Staff from behind my back and held it close to my chest as I followed behind Jinx and the others.

"What's the 'Recycling Squadron'?" I asked him.

"It's a section of the city that's solely dedicated to properly disposing of the mutants. Once we kill them, they're taking over there to be burnt out of existence." He answered in a whisper.

"Right you are Jinx." Polaris voice came to life in my ears. "MMC tends to do a good job of it too. As of today, 567 mutants have been cleaned up there."

"That's not a lot for three years of work. Plus, almost _all _of those were class "A's", the easy kind." Jinx said. "That's why we're so desperate for a cure Don, trying to kill em' all is just too much."

It was almost impossible to see where you were going in the thickness of the fog making it easy for an enemy sneak attack. Yet, the General did well at keeping everyone in a tight formation so no one got lost though and eventually, his hard work paid off.

"Potts to tower 1 and 2 do you read?" He quietly said through his microphone.

"What's he doing?" I asked Jinx.

"God Donatello, you're so full of questions. Since there's so much fog everywhere, he has to contact the watch towers to make sure they don't shoot us as we try to leave." Even though I couldn't see his face, I could feel him rolling his eyes.

"We're clear, let's move out." Just as the General began to lead everyone towards the gate, the solider directly in front of Jinx was pulled to his feet and drug off into the haze. The rest of the men went into a panic and began to shoot their weapons in every direction possible.

"Donatello move!" I felt Jinx's body push up against mine as he moved the both of us out of the way before a green colored mutant could jump on top of us. "It's a class "B"!" Jinx yelled to everyone. "His weakness is in the back of the head!" He pulled me up off the ground and then pulled two handguns from his holsters and began shooting at the creature. It looked almost like a savage coyote but had several eyes on the top of its head and razor sharp claws on the end of its toes.

"Be on the look out! They usually travel in packs!" Someone called out.

"Looks like a coyote, travels in packs…this has got to be the dog mutation!" I said to Jinx before leaping into the air and landing on the mutants back.

"Very fascinating Don!" He said while rolling out of the way to avoid getting stomped by a foot. "Can you just focus on the situation at hand?!"

I pulled out one of my test tubes and began to let the greenish, slime that was falling from its skin, drip into it. Apparently, however, the mutant noticed it had picked up a hitch hiker and began to turn in violent, rapid circles. After I got enough of a sample, I threw my Bo-Staff around the dog's neck and tried to hold on the best I could. This thing was about as big as a medium sized elephant and it sure had the strength to match.

Eventually, I lost my grip and got thrown off it and onto the ground. The creature went up on its hind legs and let out a blood curdling howl. Suddenly, something shot through its head, making its eyes turn white and its body collapse on the ground.

"You alright son?" Potts walked over to me and pulled me up while checking around for his team. "Everyone alright?!"

"What was that?" I asked him, out of breath.

"Which part? You almost getting your ass kicked or Jinx having to jump in and save you and multiple times at that matter. You should be a bit more like him and get your act together boy." He spat on the ground near my feet and walked off.

"Have a nice ride Don?" Jinx came up behind me and slapped my carapace. "Did you get the sample?"

"Well that was, an interesting experience." I held up the green, ooze filled test tube and then placed a cap on top of it.

"Yeah, it looked like it wanted to make turtle pancakes out of you." He shook his head and walked away just as the sound of the similar wolf howls echoed in the distance. "Come on; let's get out of here before the rest of the pack comes."

Our original team was now short one person and the rest of the men didn't even seem to care. I suppose that the amount of deaths they've seen in the last few years have made their emotions grow hard. It almost made me sad to think about someone having to go through something like that.

"From here we head north. It is a one hour journey on foot if we move quickly." Potts led the way around one side of the city and into an urban area that was close by.

Once we got a little farther into the town, people began to show up on the streets as we passed by. Some of them would run up to us and grab our hands with tears running down their cheeks and children following close behind them. Their faces were covered with dirt and their hair looked like it had been through seven different types of natural disasters. It was a sad and depressing site but it may have given me just enough will power to continue on forward, for their sake.

"This is horrible." I said while rubbing the top of a child's head.

"Sometimes I think places like this are worse than the actual city itself." Jinx sighed. So, the big bad fox was actually a softy? Who knew? "We're the only thing they have left and so many of them are dying every day."

"Why did you wait so long to contact me?" I asked.

"I'm sorry Donatello, predicting where we stood in the crisis was so hard to tell and by the time we realized we couldn't handle it, it was too late." Polaris said.

"Hopefully this trip won't be a total loss then." Jinx said.

After walking through the town for about a half an hour, we reached a clearing of mountains and valleys. For the first time since I got here, I finally got a glimpse of the river that carried the chemicals to the city, or at least what was left of it.

"This river dried up after it got polluted by the accident." Potts pointed to the dried up ditch on our left side. "It leads straight to the plant, we're almost there."

"That's strange, how come it infected only the city but not the town it runs right through?" I asked to no one in particular.

"We thought it was because no animals were there to get infected. Then again, that raises another question. How come no animals out in the wilderness were affected either? We thought it was because they were able to smell that something was up with the water." Polaris answered intelligently. "I ran a few diagnostics about the history of the town you just walked through and it turns out that the year of the spill, there were 356 more human deaths than normal."

"So the spill infected humans outside the city, but not inside?" Jinx rubbed his temples. "Man my brain hurts."

"I still think something in the city mixed with the chemicals that caused it to carry mutagen like qualities." I said. "Only tests can prove this though."

"What could possibly do something like that?" Jinx asked. "Our city has been clean of harmful substances for several decades now."

"That's what baffles me."

The rest of the hike to the plant was mainly uphill and after another half an hour of walking over the rough terrain, you could smell the factory long before you even saw it. It didn't smell like roses and sunshine either. The stench of rotten flesh and fescues almost made my gag reflexes let go all over Jinx.

"Please tell me that's a normal stench." I held my hand over my nostrils in disgust.

"I'm guessing most of the mutants are decomposing by now." Jinx seemed to be a bit more disturbed by the stench than I was, him being a fox with an extreme sense of smell and all. "The city smells foul too, but nothing compared to this." Some of the soldiers were beginning to stop on the side of the dirt road and gag in the grass until eventually; everyone had stopped due to the intensifying smell.

"Man up gentlemen!" Potts ordered. "I don't remember recruiting a bunch of pussies!"

"Foxes are dog breeds, General." Jinx smirked.

"Then grow a pair and keep movin'!" He slapped his men on the back and pulled them back up onto their feet. After a few more minutes of intense retching, they were back on the road with Jinx and I close behind.

"Well he sure isn't a happy camper is he?" I chuckled.

"Nah, I don't blame him though. I'd be pretty upset too if every woman I came across rejected me." He laughed sinisterly.

"Don't they?" I said while dodging a friendly punch from him with my arm.

"You're alright Donatello, I'll give you that."

"I get that dumb side from my brothers I suppose." I shrugged.

"Yeah, how come you don't talk about them? If I had siblings I'd be yapping away about how dumb they were."

I sighed and began to kick a medium-sized rock with my foot as we walked up the road. "I miss them too much I guess."

"Say no more, I get it…" Jinx went to pat me on the shoulder but the sudden tuck and roll from the team in front of us made him stagger back.

"GET DOWN!" One of the soldiers waved us to get on the ground. As quick as we could, we took cover in the dried up river while looking to people for answers.

"What's going on?!" Jinx whispered/yelled to the nearest man.

"Class "C" up ahead and it's a big one. It's blocking the entrance to the plant too." He answered in Russian.

"Fantastic." Jinx took out one of his pistols and loaded a few bullets. "Listen Don, I don't know what the General plans on doing about this but I'm going to take you around back." He lifted his body up just enough so he could see over the bank of the ditch. "Yeah it's a class "C" alright. Come on, this way."

I followed him through the ditch a few yards until he signaled for me to climb out.

"None of the other soldiers will follow you in here so you're on your own. I'm going to go help the others."

"Guys, if Don can get inside I can run a diagnostic scan and tell you if anything living is inside." Polaris chimed in.

"Sounds good Polaris, I'll let you know when I'm in." The Plant was relatively large with several circular rooms jutting off at different angles. I ran as fast as I could to the first wall and held my shell to it while pressing a button on my headset. "Can you find me a way in?"

"I'm working on it Donatello, give me a few minutes."

I snapped my head to the side after the sound of footsteps began to emerge from around the corner. Whatever was coming in my direction was extremely heavy as it made the ground shake with every step it took.

"Hey uh, Polaris?" I pulled out my Bo-Staff just as a bird looking mutant stepped out from behind the wall and sniffed the air. Its 18 foot spanned wings were high above its body and it had what looked like a dog's legs. A few bare spots covered its feathered body and its ribs were extremely visible even from this distance. "I may not have a few minutes!" The animal was no bigger than a small car but it still looked terrifying. It let out a monstrous howl and then charged right for me, using its wings to gain momentum.

"Oh shell!"

"Don hurry! In the back there's a boarded up cellar door that will lead you straight to the containment room!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" I jumped high in the air just as the mutant dove for me head first. "How's that diagnostic coming along?!"

"Almost there…"

"_KUAAW!_" I looked behind me and saw the mutant was right on my tail. I made the sharp turn around the corner and immediately noticed the cellar door. Only problem, when Polaris said "boarded up" I think she probably meant "sealed with chains and locks." It was completely covered with metal chains that were attached into the ground on either side.

"How am I supposed to…UMPH!" I got smacked from behind and thrown halfway across the outside of the building and into the next wall.

"Don? Are you alright?!"

"I'll get back to you Polaris." I moaned while trying to get up off the ground before that thing came back to finish me off. I grabbed my Bo-Staff and turned around just in time to dodge another dive from the mutant. It ended up crashing right into the wall behind me causing its feathers to fly everywhere. "How can such a hungry animal be so energetic?" I asked it.

"_KUAAAAAW!_" It raised its wings in the air and started to charge for me again. Finally, I came up with a plan and prepared to execute it. First, I needed this thing in the right position.

I started to run away from the building and turned around occasionally to make sure the mutant was following me, which it was.

"Who wants a yummy turtle snack?!" I taunted it. "UWA!" I misjudged how fast it was and almost got squashed by one of its feet. "Ok…no more taunting." I used my Bo-Staff to flip over its body, making it slide through the dust and roll around while trying to regain its feet. By the time he was up again, I was back at the plant, sitting on the cellar door.

"Come and get it." I smirked. He released a furious scream and then began to charge for me as fast as he could. "That's right…just a little closer." It jumped into the air with its mouth wide open and then right when it was about to land on me, I leapt out of the way so it's body crashed right into the door and shattered it open. Feathers flew in every direction as he went stumbling down the steps and lay lifeless on the cement floor below.

"Yes! Score one for Donatello!" I raised my staff in the air and cheered.

"Too bad there's _soooo_ many of them." Jinx ran over to me and stared down the steps at the scene.

"Nice of you to show up." I crossed my hands over my plastron.

"We just finished taking the one out by the entrance down. Where does this lead?"

"To the containment room, or at least that's what Polaris says." I raised my shoulders.

"Not too shabby, for a mutant." Potts and his team came around the corner with their guns at the ready. "The front entrance is barricaded by chains; I hope you found another way in."

"Donatello did." Jinx walked past me and jumped down into the cellar. "You coming or what turtle boy?"

I shook my head and followed him down the stairs into the cold, dark room below. "Are there anymore mutants in here?" I asked but my question was answered right when I hopped off the last step. Immediately my stomach failed me and I became sick all over the floor with the little food I had in it. Rotted mutant corpses were lying everywhere along with what looked like decapitated human skeletons and their clothing. Blood and greenish colored slime was dripping off the walls and collecting in several different pools on the floor. If the smell didn't kill us, I didn't know what would.

"Why are there human skeletons here?" I asked while holding my arm over my face.

"Some of the scientists that worked here refused to leave." Jinx frowned while kicking a rib cage out of his way.

"Oh God…" I fell onto my knees and started to cough up a storm. I changed my mind, if the smell of the rotted flesh and dried blood didn't kill us, the sight of the human graveyard surely would.


	7. Chapter 7

: Chapter 7:

When we arrived back at the MMC building around noon, Polaris was at the door ready to greet us. She embraced each of us with a smile on her face until…

"I'm so glad you guys are alright. Ew! You two reek!" She let go of Jinx and pinched her nose with one of her hands.

"That's what happens when you fall into a pit of dead bodies." He smirked.

"How did that go?" Polaris asked.

"Well…" I began but the sight of the soldiers as they walked in the door was more than enough of an explanation. Their battle with the mutant had been a very costly one. Their faces were all bloody and some of them walked with a limp. Worst of all, it looked like another man was missing. Two people had to die today just so I could get samples, as if my "leaving home" guilt trip wasn't enough.

"It went fine, but they lost a few men." Jinx answered after I had been choked up by the scene. "Come on Don, let's hit the showers and then we can take your samples to the lab." He placed one hand on my shell and led me out of the lobby.

"I'll ask Morpheus to get everything set up." Polaris said from behind us.

"Do you have anything that can jog my memory?" I asked Jinx while we walked through the building to his room.

"I would imagine someone like you would be used to seeing death at that rate." He snorted.

"I had been used to it, years ago. After we defeated our last enemy, things just slowed down for us, for me at least." I sighed.

"Your complicated life gives me a headache Donatello."

Once we reached Jinx's room, he offered to let me have the shower first. I took up his offer, hoping that a nice, relaxing shower would help clear my mind. His bathroom was small but as long as it had running water, I could care less. I turned on the shower faucet so that it was hot enough to allow steam to accumulate on the mirror he had over his sink. For a while I just stood there and looked at myself while the first signs of fog began to creep along the mirror like a hungry animal stalking its prey. The dried blood I had on my arms started to drip down to my finger tips and rest there until they finally had enough power to fall onto the floor in a puddle.

"Don!" There was a hard knocking at the door. "Come on man, it's not like water freely flows into the city anymore."

"Sorry." I jumped into the shower and quickly scrubbed my skin with a wash cloth. It wasn't a perfect job, just as long as the smell didn't make people drop around me like flies.

"Softie." Jinx used his body to push me into the threshold while we exchanged turns in the bathroom. Right before I was about to turn around and tell him off, he smiled and said he was only kidding. I knew he was only trying his best to keep my mind on track, but it seemed like my entire life was all running downhill from here just because of what I witnessed at the plant. "There's a sandwich on the coffee table for you, don't ask how I got it either." Jinx shut the door to the bathroom after pointing over in the living room.

I refused the food but I did drink the bottle of water that was sitting next to it. The liquid hurt running down my dry throat but it felt good after my hot shower and helped ease my nerves a little. After Jinx was done and smelling better, we headed up to the distribution room to meet Polaris and Morpheus.

"Alright, let's take a looksee." Morpheus handed me a white, lab coat and a pair of goggles.

"Alright Don, we'll be in the lobby if you need us." Polaris and Jinx walked out of the room, leaving me alone with the mentally disturbed scientist.

"How did the trip go?" He asked while eyeing the small test tubes I had in my hands.

"Fine, thanks for asking." I walked past him and into a little room in the back. It was very well lit and appeared to have everything I would need to run the tests, except for the autoclave. "Where's the autoclave?"

"Oh right, you were ganna fix that weren't you? Umm…let me go get it." He walked out of the room with an obscure smile on his face.

"Alrighty then." I rolled my eyes and started to pull out supplies that I would need. There were plenty of petri dishes, syringes, sponges and stuff to choose from and even the atomic microscope had been moved from the basement and brought up here. "Cool." I was quite amazed with the device considering I had never seen one in real life. They say that the microscopic lens is so fine, that even the slightest vibrations could cause it to break, even the sound of someone's voice. After a few minutes, Morpheus returned with the autoclave attached to a cart.

"I've got it right here." I witnessed Morpheus forcefully try to push the autoclave through the doorway that was obviously too small for it.

"It's fine just leave it out there!" I held my hand out for him to stop in fear that the vibrations would disturbed the precious lens on the microscope.

"No no, I think I can get it…" He backed up and then with another forceful push, tried to shove the cart into the room. All the chaos from the struggle had caused the microscope's lens to vibrate violently.

"Morpheus stop! You're ganna break the…"

He tried one last time, insisting that he could do it but after the cart slammed into the wall again, the lens vibrated out of control and bent to the side, causing it to shatter into a million pieces all over the floor.

"AH!" I gripped the top of my head with my hands and gasped at the sight. "MORPHEUS!"

"Oops."

"Y-You! I told you to stop, why didn't you listen?!" As badly as I wanted to grip the top of his lab coat and slam him against the wall, I found the will to hold back and control myself through the outrage I was experiencing.

"I am so sorry Donatello." The look on his face made his apology seem like a false accusation. As I watched him stare at the mess on the floor, it almost looked like he was…smiling. "I'll go see if Lemming can get another…"

"Forget it. Those lenses cost thousands of dollars." I knelt down on the ground and picked up the small glass fragments in my hand.

"Do they?"

"Yes, they do."

"That's a shame you broke it then."

"What?!" I stood up abruptly and looked him in the eye. "I didn't break it!" I couldn't believe I was beginning to lose my temper. I was normally a very mellow guy, but if someone got on my bad side, I could be a real *insert choice word here*.

"Well you _were _yelling pretty loudly…" He said as-a-matter-of-factly.

I took a deep breath and allowed myself to cool down before I decided to speak another word to him. I didn't feel like pulling a "Raphael" anytime soon. That would probably end bad for him anyway.

"Look, I just need to do my work ok?" I said politely. "So if you may please…let me be."

"Sure thing, I won't be in your way."

"What?"

"I mean, you don't mind if I stick around and take a peek do yah? I'm just really curious that's all." He smiled and rocked back and forth on his toes.

"With all due respect, I think you've done enough."

"Alright, call if you need anything, I'll be right out here."

Finally, after he left the room to continue his work, I was able to start getting some stuff done. By detaching the autoclave from its cart, I was able to bring it inside and place it on the lab desk to be fixed. It took me about a half hour to figure out what was wrong and correct it but it was finally up and running. The circuit board was just fried from the liquid spill so I was able to rewire it no problem.

I took my test tubes filled with each chemical sample and poured a small fraction of them into separate petri dishes. This was going to take a while now that I didn't have the atomic microscope. Why do I fell like someone wanted it to be that way?

**::**

"Don you're alive!" Polaris raised her arm in the air as I walked over to her table in the cafeteria and sat down. "You've been up there almost 7 hours, how is everything going?"

"Yeah turtle boy, find out anything yet?" Jinx asked.

"All the diagnostics are being printed now. I ran my final tests through the scanner and they'll be able to show me what exactly is going on in a report. I did find out that each "class" is proven to be a different type of animal. Some unnecessary information but I thought you might want to know." I answered.

"So what will we be looking for?" Polaris said while handed me a bottle of water.

"I need to see if the chemicals found on the mutant's bodies are different from that found at the plant. I'm also checking the radioactivity of both samples."

"Sounds boring. Wake me up when you're doing something exciting." Jinx smirked.

"I _will _be doing something exciting. I'm going to need to go to the hospital to collect supplies to start making the cure."

"What?! You don't even know what's up with everything yet!" He exclaimed.

"Yes, but I'm going to need to go either way."

"Damnit Donatello!" Jinx slammed his fists on the table causing a few people around us to stop talking and stare.

"Relax Jinx; I'm sure everything will be alright." Polaris tried to calm him down.

"You wanna come with us to that Hell hole Polaris? No, you don't cuz it aint pretty!"

"None of you will be going because I decided that I'm going on my own."

"WHAT?!" Polaris and Jinx said simultaneously.

"I can get in and out faster if I'm by myself. I'm a ninja; I've trained for these kinds of things." I said.

"You could be a ninja or you could be the Incredible Hulk it doesn't matter!" Jinx stood up from his seat and leaned in close to me. "No one has ever gone in there and come out alive." He whispered. "Lemming sent a team in there about a year ago to collect medical supplies for some injured civilians we had rescued. We lost contact with them a few days later."

"I guess I'll be the first to survive then." I said calmly.

"You're screwed up in the head turtle boy." He shook his head and walked away.

"What's up with him?" I asked Polaris after Jinx had left the cafeteria.

"Jinx doesn't make friends very easily. Now that he's finally got someone who's so much like him, I think he's just afraid you'll die out there." She sighed. "He's not the only one either."

"Two people already died because of me, Polaris. I don't want to put his life in danger any more than I already have." I reassured her.

"You're sweet Donatello, but it's his choice if he wants to go with you."

"I guess you're right." I leaned my head into the palm of my hand and sighed. I already lost three brothers, so to speak, and I really didn't feel like losing anyone else right now. "My report is probably done. Want to come with me to get it?"

"Sure." Polaris pushed her tray of food into the center of the table and joined me on the walk to the lab room. "Everything with Morpheus go ok?" She asked me.

"I guess it went alright…" I refrained from telling her anything else including his breaking of the microscope. "I really just want to get my diagnostic and finally find out what's going on around here."

"You're not the only one." She giggled. Once we got to the lab room, Morpheus was strangely absent from his normal post. "He must have gone down for dinner."

I walked over to the printer in the back of the room and started to look through the papers that were lying there. My heart started to beat faster as I neared the end of the pile without a sign of my paperwork. Finally, on the very bottom of the stack, was the first paper that was labeled with my name and the date. To my surprise, when I went to collect the rest of the results…

"Oh my God…"

"What is it?" Polaris ran over to me in a hurry. "What's wrong?"

"My report…it's gone!"

**DUN DUN DUUUN**


	8. Chapter 8

: Chapter 8:

The laboratory was an absolute disaster as a result from my most frequent panic attack. I had opened all the desk draws and poured out its contents to try and find my lab report. I even took apart the entire printer in search for my missing document.

"It can't be gone!" I viciously tore it apart paper by paper while trying to find any sign of what was rightfully mine. Even though I searched with every single amount of effort I had in my trembling body, I knew the report was gone for good. Now I was like an empty shell with no purpose hoping that something that didn't exists would show up.

"Maybe it just isn't done printing yet Don." Polaris tried desperately to calm me down but she had no such luck.

"No Polaris. I got the first page of the report but nothing else! The first page doesn't just print on its own and not the rest!" I kept looking for a few more minutes but finally, with exhaustion from almost 2 hours of intense rampaging, I collapsed onto my hands and knees on the floor. "Who would have taken it?" I said out of breath.

"Well, no one else has access to this room except you, Jinx, me and…" She froze.

"Who? Who else?" I got up off the ground and pressed her against the wall desperately.

"Morpheus…but he wouldn't do something like that Donatello." She looked almost paralyzed as she glared into my eyes.

"Morpheus…Polaris, there's something I should probably tell you." I began. "But we need to find Jinx first." I let her go and quickly sprinted out of the lab. I ran down the hall and a few staircases to the sleeping chambers where I knew Jinx would be resting. I could hear Polaris calling behind me to "slow down" but I was in too much of a hurry. Once I found Jinx's door number, I walked right in without even considering to knock.

"Hey what the Hell?!" Jinx was sitting on the couch but stood up abruptly after I had walked in. "What do you Americans not know how to knock?!"

"Something's wrong." I exhaled and immediately, I had caught his attention.

**::**

"What do you mean it's gone?" Jinx said after I had told him the story of the missing paper work.

"I'm telling you Jinx, someone took that report." I handed him the first and only page I had found in the printer. "I think I have an idea who though."

"Whoever it is, they better prepare for a real furry beat down." He threatened the perpetrator.

"Don, how can you be so sure? Maybe one of the workers took it by accident or…" Polaris stuttered but sighed after receiving a look from Jinx.

"Remember when I went to the lab to begin working? Well, Morpheus was there and he went to fetch the autoclave so I could begin my experiments. However, the doorway from the distribution room to the lab room is too small for the autoclave's cart to fit through so I just told him to leave it out there but he didn't." I said while the very memory of Morpheus's stupidity made my blood boil, something that rarely happened to me.

"Seems just like that old hag bag to cause trouble." Jinx growled.

"Well, in the lab was the atomic microscope. The lens on that thing is so fine to the point that the slightest vibrations could cause it to shatter. Morpheus kept banging the cart into the doorway, even long after I told him to stop, and then the lens broke. As a result, my research took three more hours to compete because I couldn't use the microscope to speed things along." I sighed and leaned my shell into the soft structure of the couch. I wasn't really the type of guy to become angry over many things but even my brothers knew better than to touch my stuff, as they found out the hard way, it could cause me to become a miniature Raphael.

"You know Don I gotta hand it to yah; you really know how to get me angry." Jinx shook his head as I noticed that he was trying very hard to stay sane. I knew he hated Morpheus and I didn't want to make him upset, but I needed him to know that…

"That's why I think Morpheus might have taken my report."

"When you first got here I noticed that Morpheus was giving you dirty looks. I told you his pathetic background story and it seems like he has every reason to want to mount your shell over his fireplace." He said.

"You can't just go and beat him up because you _think_ he took it. You need hard evidence and you simply don't have it." Polaris stated. I hated to admit it, but I knew what she was saying was right. We had absolutely nothing to go on except a broken microscope that_ I_ couldn't even prove was the result of Morpheus's rage or better yet, his jealousy.

"Great, now we get a lecture from the peace keeper." Jinx rolled his eyes.

"Remember Jinx, I was a police officer before I came here. Unfortunate for you, I still remember a few things about right and wrong." Polaris's usual happy expression had dropped into an unsatisfied frown.

"So what do you propose we do then chief?" He mocked her.

"I'm thinking we should, very calmly, approach Morpheus and ask him if he knows anything about the missing report. He has _some_ rights you know Jinx, so we can't just walk up and beat him until he's so scared that he lies about the truth." She nodded her head.

"Come on Polaris, you and I both know he's probably the second greatest liar in the world, alongside me of course." He grinned.

"Does he have a room?" I asked as an idea popped into my head.

"No, he sleeps on the roof." Jinx looked at me and raised his arms like I was stupid. I guess I kind of asked for that one.

"Morpheus sleeps in the "VIP" section of the chambers, or so he calls it." Polaris said. "I hope you two aren't thinking about invading his personal privacy." She crossed her arms over her chest and gave us dirty looks.

"Of course not." I flicked my wrist down and smiled at Jinx.

"What do you think we are criminals?" Jinx and I laughed together and stood up off the couch. He even wiped away a fake tear to make our act look convincing, even though we knew Polaris wasn't as dumb as she looked. She sighed and shook her head at us with a grin on her face. I took a wild guess in saying that she finally gave up arguing after she said…

"Well…he's _definitely_ not room number 2 or anything and his keys are _definitely_ not hanging up in the lab over the printer." She shot us a wink and grabbed the remote to the T.V. "You heard nothing from me."

"We'll be right back." Jinx looked at me sinisterly and grabbed my wrist. He pulled me out the door and literally _dragged_ me all the way back to the distribution room. We passed a few people on the way that looked at us bewildered and rolled their eyes. Some of them even grunted "mutants."

"Ok, you pin him down and I'll snap his neck."

"Jinx, can we at least be a little reasonable here? Just _try _to listen to what Polaris said ok?" I practically had to beg for him to cooperate with me in fear that he would actually kill Morpheus if I gave him the chance. He sighed and put the knife away that I failed to notice he had pulled out.

"OK…but if he…!"

I raised my pointer finger for him to be quiet and then placed my hand on the doorknob. I slowly turned it and walked inside with Jinx very close behind me as he peeked over my shell trying to get a good look at the inside.

"Damn, he's not in here." He pushed me out of the way and stormed inside.

"Isn't that a good thing so we can take the keys?"

"You mean the keys that aren't here?" He pointed to a small rack above the printer whose shelves were completely empty. "Morpheus may be a hideous son-of-a-bitch, but he certainly isn't a dumb one. So what now turtle boy?"

"Don't worry, I came prepared." I walked over the wreckage that I had made earlier in the day and went into the lab room. "I had a feeling that if Morpheus really did take my report, he certainly would be smart enough to eliminate any evidence, including his room keys so we can't check him out." I pulled out a pair of test tube holders from one of the drawers and began to bend the small metal tongs out of place.

"What are you doing?"

I was able to bend one of the grips just enough so that it was in somewhat of a straight line. "This metal is fine enough to fit inside the keyhole of Morpheus room, as long as he has the same lock as all the others do of course." I handed it to Jinx and let him examine it. He made a few satisfied faces and then returned it to me.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" He grinned and followed me out of the room. We speed walked all the way back down the stairs to the "VIP" section of the chambers.

"Room 2, room 2, room 2…here it is!" He slammed me against the door and urged me to pick the lock quickly.

"Sure thing after I get the feeling back in my face." I rubbed the spot on my cheek that had just smashed into the door and pushed Jinx out of my personal space .I stuck the tip of my newly created lock pick into the keyhole and bit my tongue and concentrated the best I could with a heavy breathing fox practically sitting on my shell.

"Come on Don before someone sees us!"

"I'm trying the best I can!" I yelled as quietly as I could. "Got it!" There was a small click and then the door slowly opened and Jinx jumped inside.

"Alright you sly fox, no pun intended." He chuckled and then began to run around the huge room and look in anything that could be looked in and violate nearly every single article of furniture he could. I was starting to think he was more desperate to find this guy's guilt then I was.

I walked into a separate bedroom and slowly started to open drawers and rummage through his belongings. I felt so odious looking through other peoples stuff and getting into their personal business and if it turned out that Morpheus _wasn't_ the one who took my report, I would be adding another thing to my "guilt trip" list.

"Find anything yet?!" Jinx called in from the other room.

"Nope, not yet." I said back while grabbing a frame that was sitting on the nightstand next to the bed. It was a picture of Morpheus and a bunch of other people. Someone in the front of the group was holding a banner that said "UCLA." So, I guess he wasn't lying about that bit. He really did work for the UCLA, interesting. I wonder why they sent him here to Russia…

"Hey Don! Check this out!"

I put the photo back down on the nightstand and walked over to meet Jinx. "What is it?"

He held up two vials of greenish looking liquid and swished them around in their tubes. "Is this anything of yours?"

"Those are my samples! Why does Morpheus have them?" I grabbed the samples and gave him a puzzled look.

"I don't know but I searched the entire place, no sign of your report."

"Nothing in his bedroom either." I frowned.

"_Attention, MMC staff."_ A voice over came from all around the room and could be heard echoing through the hallways. _"Report to the cafeteria at once, I repeat, all staff members are to report to the cafeteria immediately. Thank you."_ It was Lemming's voice.

Jinx and I looked at each other with great amounts of perplexity and shrugged our shoulders.

"Well? Do we go?" I asked.

"This might have been the only chance we had to look through Morpheus's room…" He tightened his lips as if it was my call.

"Well, we already came to the conclusion that there's nothing here." I sighed. "Let's just go. I guess it wasn't him after all" We made sure everything was back in its original position before walking out of the room. I locked the door behind us and slowly slumped down the hallway at Jinx's side.

"Don't worry Don, we'll find your report." He patted the back of my shell. "I swear to God Morpheus took it though."

"I don't know Jinx; his room was clean, so maybe he _didn't_ take it."

He shot me an aggravated look and turned away after my remark. I'll admit, I didn't like Morpheus very much either but I wasn't exactly the person to go and accuse people just because I didn't like them. Jinx however, he was a different story. Little did I know, I was about to find out how right he was.

"Jinx, Donatello, thank you for finally deciding to join us." Lemming smiled as he stood on the podium that was in the middle of the room. Long and behold, there was Morpheus standing right next to him on the ground. The crowd of at least 200 people stared at us as we walked through the dome shaped room and made our way to an empty seat. There were whispers and snickering as some groups of people started to point at us and giggle quietly to themselves.

"Settle down!" Lemming brought everyone's attention back to him. "We are gathered here today, because something very exciting has happened." He began.

I viciously scanned the crowd trying to look for Polaris and finally spotted her near the front. She gave a little wave and mouthed the words: "Did you find anything?" real slowly so I could understand. I tightened me lips and shook my head, causing her to sigh and roll her eyes.

"I know it's been a rough past few years but I am happy to announce that we have finally reached a breakthrough thanks to the genius of Dr. M Wesley." Lemming pointed to Morpheus and then started to clap, making everyone else in the room except Jinx, Polaris and I, join in. People were cheering and stomping their feet on the floor as Morpheus stepped up to the podium and raised a stack of papers in the air.

"Thank you ladies and gentlemen!" He smiled imprudently and happily accepted all the attention he was receiving. "I really couldn't have done it without Donatello's help. After all, he did get the samples for me." Morpheus extended his palm out to me and grinned. "I was able to run some tests on this "mystery substance" and I found out that something in the city, mixed with the chemicals from the plant, caused all our animals to mutate!" The crowd oohed and aahed as Morpheus began to read from the report that he was holding in his hands. Only it wasn't just any report, it was mine, it had to be.

"What…" Jinx clenched his fists and lifted his lips as he began to snarl.

"Now, what mixed with the chemicals to cause something like this to occur, I don't know, but what I do know is that now, finally, we can begin to make our cure using our newly found information!" The crowd began to cheer again as Morpheus raised his arms into the air.

"YOU FILFTHY, LYING SON-OF-A-BITCH!" Jinx jumped up from his seat and lunged for the middle of the room.

"Jinx!" I tried to yank him back but I only pulled off a small chunk of fur as he charged for the podium. Before anyone in the room could react, Jinx had dive-bombed on top of Morpheus and had him in a headlock within seconds. "That's Donatello's work! You're a frickin liar and you stole it from him to get all the credit for yourself!"

"Someone help me! If he kills me I can't make the cure!" Morpheus cried out which caused the entire room to turn into a mob. Jinx was immediately pulled back by Lemming and thrown onto the ground where people began to swing their arms at him and scream.

"Enough!" Lemming yelled while ordering Potts and his men to steady the crowd. "Have you all gone mad?!" He lectured once everyone was silenced. He ran his hand over the top of his head and took a deep breath. "Morpheus, is this true?"

"No! This is all my work!"

"LAIR!" Jinx started to lunge for him again but this time I was able to wrap my arms around his chest and hold him back, for a little while anyway. He growled malevolently while saliva started to drip from his sharp teeth and fall to the ground.

"Jinx, If you cannot be contained we will throw you onto the street!" Potts pointed his gun right at us.

"No, if you cannot be contained I will order you to be shot do you understand?!" Lemming pointed his finger right at Jinx until he stopped growling and shut his mouth.

"Donatello…" He looked at me. "Is that true? Is this really your work?" He asked. I kept my grip on Jinx's body but I slowly started to ease my muscles and relax a little. I looked at Morpheus whose face couldn't exactly be described. It was almost a mix of regret and hatred at the same time. I had no idea what would happen to him if Lemming found out that he lied about the discovery being his and not mine, but it didn't matter to me. I didn't care about receiving credit for the work though; I only cared about getting Morpheus ousted.

"Yeah, it's mine." I said in a quiet voice. Immediately, Morpheus's changed to a violent, furious expression and his fists clenched as Lemming and Potts walked towards him and reclaimed the paperwork from his hands. Potts scanned the first page and then claimed it had my name on it.

"I had a feeling you wouldn't be able to come through with yourself." Lemming sighed. "Put him in the holding cell until I can figure out what to do with him." He ordered.

"No, no, you can't do this to me!" Morpheus shouted and struggled as Potts' men grabbed him from behind and started to drag him out of the cafeteria. "I did the work myself! I'm the mastermind behind all this and I'm the only person who can rescue this damn city! No, let me go! You'll pay for this Donatello; mark my words you will truly find the meaning of suffering, I swear it on my life!"


	9. Chapter 9

: Chapter 9:

Jinx walked into the cafeteria the next day with large, black circles underneath his eyes. When he plopped down next to me on the bench I moved away a tiny bit in fear that he would lash out at me or even Polaris, who was sitting on the other side.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the MMC building." Polaris smiled but quickly looked away after receiving a nasty look from the aggravated fox. "So what's up with you?" She quickly changed the subject while handing him a half of her bagel.

"Lemming had me on cell duty the whole night!" He shouted, causing conversations within the cafeteria to halt. Polaris's cheeks went red and she looked around in embarrassment. Eventually, the crowds got bored and returned to their usual chatter.

"Cell duty?" I asked.

"Yeah, I had to sit outside Morpheus's cell room door until another guard was available to do it! Do you know what it's like listening to a crazy asshole screaming your name all night?!" Jinx sunk his razor sharp teeth into the bagel and easily ripped it into bite sized pieces.

"Whose name?" I asked with a puzzled look on my face.

"Yours stupid!"

"Mine?"

"Yeah, that crazy asshole is dying to get his hands on you. If it were up to me though, I would have bitten his head of right there and then for threatening your life like that." He finished his food and then laid his head on the table.

"That's exactly why it's not up to you Jinx." Polaris smiled.

"So now that?" He moaned. "You still gonna run off to the hospital?"

"Well, I got a look at my report after it was rightfully returned to me. The good news is that I can use the autoclave to generate a cure, the Resin cure, from my already collected samples." I said positively. "Also, the tests show that all chemicals outside the city were dissolved away after a few months of being in the river before it could reach any other major towns and cities. That's what caused all those humans to die that that you talked about Polaris.

"What are you saying?" She tightened her lips as to prepare for the worst.

"I'm saying, someone mixed a harmful chemical into the water, Radon222, and caused it to turn radioactive in the sewers of Moscow but only there, nowhere else. That means that the chemical was physically placed there somehow since it didn't affect any animals downstream. However, when the Radon mixed with the chemicals from the plant, it caused the newly created substance to literally do the exact _opposite_ of what it was already doing. Now instead of killing humans and not animals, it mutated animals and left humans unscaved."

"So the bad news is all your materials are in the hospital." Jinx chuckled and shook his head. "Well we better get a move on then." He got up from the table and walked out of the cafeteria in a rather aggravated manner.

"Where does he think he's going?" I asked Polaris.

"With you probably." She smiled and laughed. "He's pretty stuck up if you couldn't already tell."

I sighed and swiveled my legs out from underneath the table. I caught Polaris trying to stop me from going but let it go after she pulled her hand back in hesitation.

"Hey Don…" Oh boy.

"Yes?" I turned around and faced her but not before rolling my eyes a bit. Sometimes being right all the time can be a little annoying.

"Please be careful."

"I will, I promise. I'll keep Jinx safe too." I gave her a reassuring smile and strolled out of the cafeteria. When I made my way into the lobby, Lemming and Jinx were deep in conversation by the main exit to the city.

"I'm not going to risk my two best men out there Jinx, let General Potts go, he can handle it." Lemming had his finger pointed at Jinx like a football coach and his mouth was busy violating what was probably a piece of gum.

"Sir, Donatello is the only one who probably knows where all his..." He flailed his arms in the air as if he couldn't find the right words to say. "…STUFF is so he HAS to go and if he goes, I need to be there to protect him." Jinx argued.

"I'm sure Hamato Donatello can handle himself out there. After all, he did make it into the plant on his own and actually came out alive."

"Sir, if I may?" I walked over to the two of them with my hands folded close to my plastron. "I know what method of cure I'm going to use but I'm not sure exactly what materials I will need yet. I'm no doctor but I know my way around a hospital and I'm sure Jinx would be able to assist me in that matter." Normally I would completely frown upon Jinx joining me on such a dangerous run, but I felt bad because of what happened with Morpheus. I would be pretty upset too if someone's name was burned into my head after a psychopath had screamed it all night and I would certainly expect something in return. Maybe even this run could help him blow off some steam.

"Don's right sir. Not to mention that the hospital is filled with class C's. You'll need someone with mutant experience to get your men in and out of there alive." After Jinx grinned, we could hear General Potts begin to scowl from behind us.

"Alright Jinx. I hope your friend here is right." He frowned. "Do you have your earpieces? I'll have Polaris keep in touch."

Jinx and I both nodded and watched as Lemming turned on his heels and walked off. "Are you sure you want to come along? Aren't you tired from last night?" I asked Jinx.

"Nah I'm good. A nice mutant beat down should wake me up."

"Alright men!" Potts began. "We're heading to the hospital so Professor Donatello can get the supplies he needs to make our cure. Remember, all mutants killed need to be transported to the southern end of the city for extermination. Just keep that in mind when you're putting holes through em'" Potts looked at us and gave a cocky look before leading the team out the door.

I wasn't exactly sure what time it was but it was definitely extremely early. A handful of the soldier's legs started to wobble after they noticed that a thick blanket of fog was settling over the ground. I guess our last experience in this type of weather left a pretty deep scar on them.

"Keep your voices down and walk in single file." Potts whispered after descending down the steps and into the mist.

"Why don't we just wait until the fog clears?" I asked Jinx.

"The mutant's vision is no better than ours, so we think. If anything, this smoke gives us sort of an advantage." He tilted his neck to the side until it cracked and then he spat on the ground. "That last encounter we had was just bad luck."

Slowly, silently, and carefully, we walked through the haze and listened to the sounds of the morning dawning over us. The thickness of the fog was so dense that it was causing vibrations to echo through our ears, scaring a few of the men. As bad as I wanted to tell them it was all in their heads, I saw Jinx was enjoying the show and decided to lay low.

"Sometimes I wonder if there's American blood in them." He teased.

"If there was, you guys would have a cure by now." I unintentionally mocked back. The foreign jokes were starting to get old but I didn't want to upset Jinx in fear that he wouldn't help lead me through the hospital so I changed the subject. "So, what are we up against?"

"Quiet back there!" Potts ordered.

"Well, mostly those bird mutants you talk about. You took one down didn't you? You should be fine." If the haze wasn't so thick I probably would have been able to get a better glimpse of the wink he shot at me.

"Hold!"

Jinx and I were too busy talking that we ended up bumping into the guys in front of us. One of them must have lost their grip on their weapon and ended up dropping it on the ground. The most terrifying sound you will ever hear is that of a metal on concrete crash echoing all through the city. For a full 30 seconds you could hear nothing but that sound in the distance and it sent chills up my spine. The very thought that we may have just awakened a hoard of mutants was too much to bear. Once it finally died away, a new sound began to render from behind us but this one was a bit more aggressive and animal sounding.

"Shit…" Jinx pulled out two handguns from his holsters and cocked them.

"Listen up men, when I say go, you're all going to sprint forward without stopping. Do I make myself clear?" I could hear the trembling in Potts' voice as he pulled out his weapons and loaded them. "Ready…"

"See you on the other side turtle boy." Jinx said.

"Go!"

Right when Potts shouted, a huge head popped out of the smoke and grabbed ahold of the back of a soldier's head with its razor sharp teeth. The men surprisingly refused to hesitate and started to run forward as they were told. I, however, had just been only 2 feet away from the ugliest thing I had ever seen. Its skin was all deformed and it looked like part of its body had been charred off by flames.

"Donatello! Move your ass!" I heard Jinx shout.

As if his words were the jumpstart that got me moving again, I took off after his voice in full speed. That's when the gunfire began. The sparks from the weapons going off would illuminate the fog just enough so I could see what was amongst us. It was a grainy image, but I could easily make out the size of the creature. From my angle, it looked to be almost two stories high but it was possible that the fog was deflecting its true image. Whether it was smaller or bigger than it appeared, I didn't want to find out. The only thing I knew how to do right now, was pump my legs and run forward.

"Let's go men! I aint' got all day!" Potts voice boomed from somewhere in the dense fog but the continuing sounds of gunfire easily made his voice sound nothing more than a distant echo. Finally, after what seemed like hours of running into nothingness, my shell was grabbed onto and my body was thrown onto the ground. "We're over here professor." Potts grumbled and then threw me inside the hospital. Most of the soldiers were bent over with their hands on their knees, catching their breath, and some were leaning against the wall gagging their hearts out.

It took me a moment but I finally understood that they weren't puking from the intense run we just took; they were becoming sick from the murderous smell that was lurking throughout the building.

"Grow some balls men!" Potts ordered while picking up his pathetic excuse of a team off the ground. I couldn't blame them though; I was about ready to pass out myself. This specific stench wasn't as bad as the one we experienced at the chemical plant, but it certainly didn't smell pleasant.

Our team took a few minutes to recuperate and that's when I noticed something didn't feel right. It wasn't the dark, horrifying setting of the hospital or the sight of smeared blood all over the walls either. Something was missing…someONE was missing.

"Jinx?" I called out without a response. Oh no, Jinx hadn't made it inside! "General, have you seen Jinx?" I desperately grabbed ahold of his shoulder with a worried look on my face.

"If he didn't make it inside then that's his own problem. We're not opening those doors again." That was all he said before putting his men into position.

"We can't just leave him behind!" I began to raise my voice from his uncooperative attitude. "I'm not going any further without him."

"You will go further! No man can survive 30 seconds out there on their own and you have a job to do! This is no time to get sentimental." Potts got in my face and pushed me back with his chest. "Now, are you going to come along, or am I going to have to drag you?"

"I'm not going anywhere without Jinx."

Out of nowhere, Potts pulled out a pistol from his belt and placed the barrel directly between my eyes. I could hear commotion begin to arouse from behind us, the sound of the soldiers in distress as Potts pulled back the hammer.

"Now, I'm going to ask you one more time. Are you going to come along, or am I going to have to drag you?"

I realized that when Potts said "drag you," he literally meant drag me, as in my body. Despite that terrifying image, I continued to stay silent, completely aware of the chances I was currently taking. Somewhere deep inside me though, I knew Potts wouldn't pull the trigger. We're all scared here, even the big, bad General. He was only afraid, and I could understand that.

"Fine." I finally answered. Now satisfied, Potts lowered the weapon and shot me a grin.

"Good choice Professor."

Right when I thought I would never live down the day I gave into his stupid game, the door behind me shot open, and a dark image trampled in. All it had to do was say 7 words and I knew right away who it was.

"Someone's ass is about to get chopped off!"

Jinx grabbed ahold of the General and slammed him against the hospital wall.

"You did that on purpose!" Jinx growled. "You locked me out on purpose!"

"All are innocent until proven guilty." Potts quickly shoved him away and straightened his uniform. "Now, are we finally ready to get a move on?" The whole room stayed silent and watched him closely as he rotated around himself and looked closely at our faces. "Yes? Very well, welcome to a little place I like to call 'Hell on Earth'."


	10. Chapter 10

**Here's where it gets complicated. I know the original canon of SAINW, but in order to have everything mash together nicely, I'm going to have to change a few things around. Now, is it a drastic enough change that causes an AU? I don't think so, I'm not changing the story too much and hopefully I can make everything flow nicely. When I say "make changes" I mean that Donatello from the past never shows up. I can't tell you anymore or else I ruin the entire idea of the story. Lol**

**Warning: This chapter is depressing (in my opinion)**

: Chapter 10: **(Michelangelo's POV)**

**50 days later in NYC**

Donatello's disappearance shocked us all, it really did. It was like the entire earth stopped and the sun vanished, causing our entire lives to turn chaotic. You never know how much you need a person in your life until they're actually gone and wiped from it. I still remember the morning when we discovered that Don's bedroom was empty and he was nowhere to be found. At first, we all thought that maybe he was just visiting April somewhere or out inventing the next new thing, but we were far from right. When Donnie didn't return home that night, panic began to set in and Splinter and I were the only ones who had an idea where he could have gone, and we agreed to keep it a secret, for his own good.

Even though we hadn't seen much of Raph and Leo in the past, they hung around much more often now that our favorite geek had gone missing. They waited and waited until it hurt and then finally, Leo started to snap back to it and starting conducting his own search missions with Raph and Casey throughout the city. After the 40th or so failed attempt, our beloved father, Master Splinter, finally could no longer watch our brothers wonder the city without a clue in the world. So he told them. He told them that he believed Donatello had taken off to Russia by demand. Raphael was the first to call out in protest but Splinter quickly explained that Don had received a letter from Russia and then suddenly disappeared the next day. We all were able to put two and two together and at least give ourselves an idea to where he was and better yet, if he had a greater chance of being alive.

"Why would Don go to Russia? Doesn't he know better than that?" Leo had asked.

"Yeah, I thought he was the smart one. It aint' like him to just get up and leave without tellin' anyone." Raph grumbled while kicking over a few chairs at our table.

I knew in my mind that for whatever reason our little nerd left us, it was probably a good one. Raph was right, for once. It wasn't like Don to just vanish without a trace. Whatever was in that letter must have been extremely important.

The following days were nothing but a waiting game. Raph and Leo slept in the lair by day, and roamed the city streets by night. I hated to admit that perhaps a small bit of them still believed Donnie was in New York. Every morning though, they would still come back home empty handed. April and Casey, very good friends of ours, helped Splinter and I calm them down and sometimes it would work, and sometimes it ended with Casey getting punched in the gullet. Things had already been pretty rough without Don around, but now things seemed to be taking a nosedive straight into Hell.

As for me, I always felt closer with that purple masked turtle more than I did with Leo or Raph; mainly because he wouldn't beat me up like the others sometimes did. Ok, Leo wouldn't "beat me" up like Raph did, but he still got a few swings in whenever I would get on his nerves (which was rare now that we're all adults). It was odd not having him around, Don. I had gotten so use to his schedule that I felt like I had it imprinted in my brain. He would wake up at 6 or even 5 in the morning, put a blanket over top of me if I was passed out on the couch, make a pitcher of coffee, cook a few eggs and then disappear into his lab for the rest of the day until he was ready to eat again. I never actually knew what he was doing in there all that time. He wasn't popping new inventions out his ears like he usually did so I suppose it will remain a mystery until I get the chance to ask him.

A few weeks later, about a month since Donatello disappeared, the unspeakable happened. After getting a lead on a top secret weapon that Shredder was supposedly working on, Master Splinter was slain trying to protect us from the very person we feared more than anyone. The fight had ended there. Leo had collapsed onto the floor next to our Sensei's body and allowed himself to be vulnerable to the Shredder. We all were in shock but Raphael was the first to snap out of it. He lost his left eye trying to protect Leo from Shredder's blades. Thankfully, we had Karai, Shredder's daughter, to help us make our escape. She blew the floor out from underneath our enemy and allowed us to jump out the back windows and retreat to our lair with Leo carrying our Dad's body in his arms. She was never seen or heard from again.

The death of our father was only a fan to the fire that was already stirring inside us. Sadly, this fire wasn't trying to fight, it was slowly crippling into nonexistence. Splinter's death only weakened us, fanning the fire of misery and failure. Leo lost the small bit of leader that was left in him and we no longer went out to stop Shredder's plans. Without any major threat opposing him anymore, the Shredder was able to conquer the city and enslave everyone who was in it. All who tried to run, hide, escape, or fight him were killed on the spot or turned into mindless soldiers that were his army. Buildings were torn down and central park was burned to the ground. In only a few days, the thousands of people that once resided on Manhattan were either dead, or imprisoned. The government was useless against this new enemy. Shredder was too advanced with alien technology to be stopped and most of it was able to cut off all communication to the outside world; therefore, we remained under his control.

I believe that he has future plans to extend his rein beyond the already crippled city, maybe even to the other states. It didn't matter now though; I personally no longer had the will to fight, only to protect Leonardo. The loss of Master Splinter had been so hard on him that he began to lose his sight slower and slower every day until he was practically blind. I hadn't realized the true impact until I noticed that he appeared to also be aging twice as fast. I did everything I could to keep him sane and healthy and as of now, it's working just fine. We stay hidden away in our destroyed lair, far from Shredder's underground patrol soldiers.

We eventually lost contact with Casey Jones. A few days after the invasion, we found out he had been killed trying to rescue hostages from the Shredder. April, who was his wife, was destroyed after that. Once we thought that she would never recover, she made an astonishing comeback, more powerful and desperate as ever. She started her own rebellion operation and is now helping take down Shredder's army slowly so he can be weakened for further extraction. Even though April was taking Casey's loss fairly well, a certain someone was doing the exact opposite. Casey and Raph were closer than any two friends I could have imagined. I couldn't begin to picture what it was like to lose your brother, your father AND your best friend all in one month. With that being said, we haven't heard from our hotheaded brother since.

It was amazing how quickly the Shredder was able to take over the city. I felt proud of myself, however, since my brothers and I were the only ones holding him back for this long. It was bad though too, because one failure practically led to the end of our world as we knew it. With that said and the ideas of a better life far beyond my imagination, I told myself that if Raph or Leo ever died, I would walk to the George Washington Bridge and throw myself off it, and I'm not playing around. That's how bad it is right now, and yes, it's all real, live in living color. I also made another promise, the day Donatello finally decided to return, I would make sure he knew how much he destroyed our family, and I would make sure he would never forget it.


	11. Chapter 11

: Chapter 11:

The tension between Potts and Jinx was so real that I could feel a change in the force of gravity when I put my hand between them. My youngest brother, Michelangelo, would always do that whenever Raphael and Leonardo got into a fight. Frankly, it only made them more upset and usually ended up with Mike getting punched in the jaw, but it reminded me a little of home, the place I missed so dearly right now.

"What are you doing?" Jinx's tone was far from pleased as I brought my hand back down to my side. "You believe me don't you Don? I swear he locked me out on purpose." He growled as we walked down one of the hospital's darkest hallways.

"I just don't think we should make accusations. Why would Potts try to kill you if he knew I needed you to help me make the cure? It just doesn't seem logical."

"Whatever. I'm going with my gut."

The hospital was from inhabitable in my opinion. It seemed like not even a bunch of mutants, no pun intended, would be able to sustain life here. For one, it was awfully cold and once in a while you could see the formation of ice crystals on the end of gurneys and other objects. You couldn't see two feet in front of you if it weren't for the help of the flashlights we had brought along. It was a miracle none of the soldiers were bumping into the pipes sticking out of the walls and floors that were pointed to the edge. On top of it all, the wretch of rotting flesh and animal waste was enough to drive someone mad.

We walked up a few flights of staircases without any mutant encounters. So far it seemed like this trip would flow nicely, but as always, something has to go wrong.

"Stay close, we're picking up some movement up ahead." Potts whispered to his team. We made a right turn down a hallway that was flashing violently with ceiling lights. Every time they would go on and off, you would hear the sizzling of the light bulbs and once in a while one would break and shatter onto the floor. That wasn't the most horrifying part, however. All the way at the end of the hallway was a dog sized creature with skin colored appendages sticking out of its feathered back.

"Get back!" Potts pushed us back around the corner while he peeked around the edge. "Class C, looks a few years old and well fed by the looks of it."

"Well fed? What's it feeding on? Cleaning supplies?" Jinx mocked.

"Maybe they're eating each other." One soldier said to himself.

"That's not the important part right now. We need to get to that door. It leads directly to the staircase we need to get to the research room." Jinx butted in.

"Alright team. Nice and steady. When it attacks, you know what to do." Potts progressed around the corner with his weapon high above his chest. He crouched down low to the ground as his men followed close behind. Jinx and I exchanged glances before following along with them.

Our progression was slow but we somehow managed to stay hidden from the mutant. Even though its back was turned, it should have at least smelt us by now. It was odd that it wasn't reacting to our presence.

"Hey Jinx…" I asked.

"What"

"Do you think it knows something we don't?"

"What do you mean?" He suddenly looked at me expectantly. Just as he did, the mutant turned around and almost…laughed, if you will. A small rumbling began to emerge from underneath our feet and small bits of ceiling started to fall down on top of us.

"What's going on?!" A soldier yelled. They were too distracted by the sudden tremor that they failed to notice the mutant had taken off through the double doors. It ran away…but why? Just as this question popped into my head, the floor started to crack and break right under our feet.

"Oh boy." Jinx sighed.

At the spur of the moment, the entire foundation gave in and we all were sent in different directions as it broke apart. I saw a few men get thrown onto the other side by the double doors while another pair fell right into the abyss that was made by the separation, along with Jinx. A large piece of cement ricocheted upward and sent Potts through the ceiling and up God knows how many stories. The rest of the men suffered more dramatic endings. Most of them were crushed between two cement pieces and the rest were thrown so hard they died instantly from impact.

I was too busy watching everyone else get tossed around and being paralyzed by the scene that I hadn't noticed the floor underneath my own two feet had collapsed. I lost my footing and started to fall the same height Jinx and his buddies took until I managed to grab a hold of a lead pipe that was sticking out of the wall. I held on as best I could as my feet dangled underneath me into the crevasse below. As I stared down into the darkness, I realized that there was no way Jinx and those men could have survived that fall unless the managed to grab a hold onto another level like me. Jinx was smart though, he had to have caught himself and I refused to believe otherwise. I crawled across the pipe until I could reach the ledge of the next floor and pull myself up. We were all separated, on different levels of the building and I was sure most had unfortunately perished. We needed to regroup the small team we had left though if we were to stand a chance against the mutants that dwell here. Sure I had taken a class C out on my own, but it took me almost 15 minutes to do it and not to mention I almost got my shell handed to me.

I took a minute to catch my breath and check my wounds. I had a few scrapes along my arms and legs but nothing too serious. I would have to treat them as soon as I could though, just in case they were caused by all the rusted pipes that were sticking out.

Once I was recuperated, I pulled out a flashlight from my belt and switched it on. My floor was dark and now impossible to navigate thanks to the latest smokescreen. Normally I would wait for the dust to settle, but I was alone and needed to keep moving. Plus, the few growling sounds that were coming from behind me gave that little extra juice I needed to go forward.

**:: (Third Person POV)**

Jinx moaned as he rubbed the top of his head where he knew a bruise was most likely forming. Was he dead? As of now, he really wished he was. All this mutant crap was starting to get to his head, even if he was one himself. He slowly got up off the ground with his hand still pressed hard against his skull. Where was he? It was too dark to tell. He reached into his belt with his free hand to try and find a flashlight but it wasn't there.

"Great…just great." He dropped down onto his knees and felt across the floor. "'I think it knows something we don't.' He says." Jinx swore under his breath. "' I think the floor might collapse from underneath us.' He says!" His hand swept across the dust covered floor and into a pool of a sticky substance. He brought his hand up to his nose and sniffed. It was blood, hopefully not his own.

Finally, after a few more minutes of searching, his hand caught onto a cold piece of metal. It was his flashlight. He quickly snapped it on and waved it around his surroundings. There were two bodies on the floor, both Potts men. Looks like one of them had broken his fall too. He'll have to thank him for that later.

He used the dim light to search for any signs of where in hell's name he was. He noticed a small red sign on the other side of the room that read; "243A." He was on the bottom floor. He had fallen 6 stories all the way down and managed to survive with only a splitting headache. Even though he was somewhat glad to be alive, it didn't change the fact that he had been separated from Donatello. Heck, he didn't even know if turtle boy was even alive. Better not sit around to find out when Class C's are lurking all over the place. The elevator was obviously out of order so he would have to climb his way up to the first level and take the stairs the rest of the way up, the old fashioned way.

"You better be alive, Don." He said to himself. "I'll frickin' kill you if you're not alive."

**:: (Donatello's POV)**

The scene I was walking through was like a terrible nightmare of mine come true. The dust from the collapse was still lingering in the air and reflecting the light off my flashlight, making it useless except maybe to scare off anyone, or thing, that was surely lurking nearby. It was strange. I've never had that feeling before. You know the one where you think someone's following you and after you've turned around for the millionth time to check but never find anything? Yah, that's the one. Now I know how other people felt when my brothers and I were on the prowl back in the good old days.

I took small, light baby steps forward knowing that a second collapse usually follows after the first. Some pieces of the upper floor was probably still hanging over top of me and "getting crushed under concrete" isn't exactly on my to-do list. The sandy texture of the floor rubbed underneath my bare feet and gave them a chalky coating. I slipped once in a while from it but nothing so drastic that it would hasten my progression.

"Man, this hallway goes on forever." I moved the light back and forth in front of me in search for any other corridors I could turn down. I also checked closely for any signs that could tell me where in the world I was. There was nothing though, nothing that the dust would allow me to see anyway.

So after what seemed like the distance from New York to Moscow, I finally met with a wall. The debris was certainly in the minority at this end of the hospital, this was a good start. My luck only increased as I kept searching the area.

"Bingo." I found a sign on the wall. It was in Russian but I was easily able to translate it. According to my newest discovery, the cafeteria was to the left and the rec room was to the right. Up two floors was the patients living docks and down two floors was the place I needed to go, the research laboratory. How was I getting down though? I certainly wasn't going to use the elevator and I wasn't going to wonder around all day in search of a staircase. I suppose I have no choice though. The hallway split here into a left and right section. I'll go left first and if I don't find anything, I will then go right. Good plan.

I didn't have to walk very far until something out of the ordinary appeared. I crouched down onto the ground and picked up what looked like torn clothing. However, I was pretty sure none of the soldiers wore pink so this had to be someone else's. It was in almost perfect condition though. It had no tears or wrinkles except from where it appeared to have been ripped from the main piece. Well, I would worry about it later. Right now I had a staircase to find.

"Do…"

"Huh?" Something fuzzy was ringing through my ears.

"Don…"

"Polaris?!" Her voice was distorted but I could hear her coming through.

"Don...what's….going…"

"Polaris? Are you there?" A few seconds later, the signal was completely lost. There was no doubt in my mind that things were hectic back at the headquarters. After a collapse like the one we just experienced, all signals are probably being disrupted. That or no one was responding back to base.

After a few more minutes of walking in frustration, the dust had completely dissolved and I could finally see where I was going. I could also see strange, red scribbling running across the walls. I tried to distract my mind from the fact that it looked like someone was dragged across it with an obvious flesh wound. But once I made the next turn, I couldn't distract my mind from the next thing I saw.

It was a mutant, and it wasn't Jinx. It looked just like the last one we saw before the floor collapsed from underneath us with its stubby skin colored wings and rounded stomach. It was doing something else this time though, it was trying to break into a room. I ran back behind the wall pulled out my Bo-Staff. I had the advantage. I could sneak up on it and take it out. What if he doesn't drop right away though? Will the sound of its struggle signal the others to come? I started to think if maybe it was best if I just snuck around it.

"KRAAW!"

I heard its blood curdling calls as repeated sounds of banging echoed through the building. It certainly wanted to get into that room. I poked my head around the corner and watched it repeatedly smash its head against the metal door. If Leonardo was here, he would have just led us around and out of harm's way. But as usual, my curiosity got the better of me. I very lightly tapped the end of my Bo-Staff on the floor so it made a small _ping_ sound and got the creatures attention. The banging immediately stopped and now the only sound that echoed were those of its footsteps towards me.

_Alright Don, now what are you going to do?_ I thought to myself. I didn't have enough time to answer though. The creatures head was already around the corner and looking right at me.

"Oh Dear."

"KRAAW!" It snapped its jaws and barely missed taking off the end of my face. I summersaulted backwards and landed with my staff tight to my body prepared to fight. It raised its stubby wings in the air and let out another monstrous roar.

This one was smaller than the one I fought before but it defiantly was going to put up a much larger fight. It clamped its jaws on the end of my staff and tried to throw me off the ground. I fought back with every bit of strength I could but he easily overpowered me a million to one. I was thrown over its body and found myself crashing into a wooden desk and shattering it into pieces. Don't look now, but I was pretty sure a piece of it found its way into my upper thigh too, considering the blistering pain I felt afterwards. The beast liked it though; he was coming back for more.

"Hold on buddy!" Suddenly, the door that the mutant was trying to break into earlier swung open and a middle-aged man stepped out and released a round of bullets into its head. This time, _it_ flipped over _my_ body and crashed landed on the other side in a pool of blood.

"Damn." The man looked at me with a puzzled look on his face and then called out something in Russian. Two more men stepped out and assisted him in picking up my body and bringing it back in the room with them. They closed and locked the door tightly before placing me on the ground and examining the situation now presented before them. There were five people in the room, the reason I knew was because they all had circled around me with widened eyes.

"What…are you?" A woman with long blonde hair asked. I took into consideration the pink bandana she was wearing in her hair. Her face was covered with dirt and she shared a trait that the rest of the group did. They all had large, dark circles underneath their eyes. No doubt from a lack of sleep.

"I'm Donatello." I slowly sat up from my lying position and cuffed my thigh between my hands. A piece of wood about 6 inches across was jutting out of it like a sore thumb. "I'm with the MMC."

"Wow, another one." The middle-aged man who I could now see had shaggy brown hair and deep brown eyes spoke.

"What do you mean?" I asked, a little out of breath.

"We're with the MMC too. We've been trapped here for almost a year."


	12. Chapter 12

: Chapter 12:

You could imagine the look on my face once this new information settled into my brain. Jinx had mentioned a while ago about Lemming having sent a team into the hospital to collect medical supplies for some civilians. Was this that same team?

"I don't understand. How could you all have survived this long?" I asked while the middle-aged man leaned down next to me and examined my injured leg.

"Well, we didn't really. There used to be eleven of us." He said with a sigh. "We just lost another one a few days ago."

So, I guess that was why the mutants looked so well fed, though I hated to think about it.

"We lost contact with the base after a terrible snow storm swept across Moscow. We tried to escape this God forsaken place but all the doors were frozen shut. By that time, the mutants knew we were here and we've been hiding from them ever since." The blonde woman said. "What's your story turtle man?"

"I was brought here to help the MMC generate a cure for the outbreak. I came here with a small team to pick up the supplies that I needed. We were separated after one of the floors collapsed." I responded.

"I'll be damned. You were the talk of the town around the time we were sent here. Well, not you specifically, but someone who would be able to help us anyway. I guess that was you." Another stranger said with a smile.

"You don't think you could help us get out of here?" The woman said.

"I'll certainly do the best I can, but I'm already looking for my other friend while, at the same time, trying to find the research room to get my supplies." I tried to explain.

"Hank knows where the research room is." The blonde gestured to a short, petite man standing in the corner of the room by himself. He was biting at his nails viciously as he stared at me with great curiosity.

"We're not separating again Star." The middle-aged man said to the blonde who I now presumed was named Star. "That's how we lost Frankie."

"That leg needs to be tended to." Hank said softly. "I'll take him to the research room, fix him up, and return here with the supplies he needs."

"Hank, did you not here what I just said?!" The man working on my leg stood up and crossed his arms over his chest.

"He's going to die if we don't do something about his wounds. Don't worry; it's only a few floors down." Hank argued but kept his voice low and soft. He reminded me of yours truly in a way.

"I'll go too." Star said.

"No!" The man began to grow frustrated. I decided that he was the leader of the team of five. Now I just needed to figure out how to keep them from fighting and drawing unwanted attention from the mutants, the bad ones.

"I probably can't get there on my own. I'm a really good fighter but not with this splinter sticking out of my leg." I looked at Star and frowned then turned back to Hank. "I only need one person to go with me. If you do, I promise I'll get you all out of here alive."

The leader rubbed the top of his head with his hands and paced across the small room. I felt bad putting so much pressure on him but I needed Hank's help or else this entire mission would be a loss.

"Fine" He finally said. "We're all going."

"What?" Star said in surprise.

"Donatello managed to get this far on his own after being separated. We can take him where he needs to go and once he has his things, we can get out of here with his help." The leader said.

"Almost all our ammo is gone though. I think Star's gun is the only one that has a full round left in it." One of the other men said.

"Then we'll have to use it wisely." The leader looked at me and nodded.

"I have a Bo-Staff but I got separated with it when that mutant was tossing me around." I allowed Hank to help me off the ground and put one of my arms around his shoulder for support. "I can grab it once we leave."

Everyone looked at each other with different expressions before finally gathering by the door. Star handed the leader her gun and swore she would kick his ass if he didn't use it properly.

"I'm Chase." The leader said. "This is Star, Hank, Yukon and Ralph." He gestured to his team. "Hopefully we can all have coffee at the MMC after this and catch up."

Chase unlocked the door and carefully pushed it open. I hadn't missed the dark hallways one bit and they seemed to be getting more terrifying by the minute. After the whole team was out, he closed the door behind us.

"The staircase is up ahead. Keep it down but we have to move quickly." Hank said while I took out my flashlight and lit the way. I spotted my staff over by the mutant's body and asked Ralph if he could kindly retrieve it for me. He did, but he looked like he was about to break down crying once he handed it to me.

"Great, it's us, 5 bullets and a wooden stick against a whole gang of Class C's." He shook his head in disbelief.

I hopped on one leg the best I could with the pain in my thigh intensifying with every step. Once we made it to the staircase, Chase and Hank _carried me_ down against my will but they clarified the need to move quickly and didn't want my current mobility problem to slow them down. Once my feet touched the ground again, I recognized where we were. It was the main level where we had first come in at.

"Alright, so far so good but keep an eye out though. These mutants like to sneak up on you." Chase whispered as we carefully advanced down the hallway.

"That friend you were looking for." Hank said to me. "Where do you think he is?"

"Once the floor collapsed he fell several stories. I don't even know if he's alive." I admitted to myself with pain in my heart. I hadn't really realized how much Jinx and I have bonded over the time I've been here. At first I thought we would clash heads and fight most of the time, but in reality, he was like another brother to me, one that actually had a head on his shoulders, so to speak.

"I know what it's like." Hank responded.

Several long and painful minutes later, Hank told us that the research room was on the next left. Once we got inside, Chase and Star immediately started to look around for supplies to help my leg. This part of the hospital was thankfully in the best condition. Everything looked to be here and nothing was shattered on the floor like I expected there to be.

"Alright Donatello, what do you need?" Hank set me down against the wall.

"Are you sure you'll know what everything will be?" I asked with a bit of humor in my tone.

"No, but I know how to read labels." He smiled. "You can double check, I won't feel offended."

While Hank helped retrieve the supplies, Chase and Star began work on getting the wood out of my leg and moving towards cleaning it properly. Normally I would do this myself but I was too busy helping Hank. I started off by giving him names of the simplest ingredients; Sodium Chloride, Polyester and Vinylester. He returned with the Sodium Chloride, Plaster and some Sulfur concoction I never heard of. This was obviously going to take a while. I tried my best to describe that the Polyester was probably in a large, brown container next to the earth metals. After a few more minutes of failure, Yukon finally stepped in and helped him locate the materials. I gave the rest of my list to Yukon and we accomplished my shopping in half the time it would have taken Hank, but I gave him points for at least trying.

"I just need epoxy." I said to Yukon. "It needs to be pure though so it's probably in the fridge."

Once he returned with the bottle, I finally felt complete. Usually I would carry all this stuff in my duffel bag, but SOMEONE made me leave it at the apartment *cough cough* Polaris. So I compromised and put everything in a medium-sized brown box. Right around that time, Chase and Star finished patching up my leg and as a bonus; they tended to the scrapes I had received from the fall. After about two hours, we were finally ready to get out of here.

"Ok guys I think that's everything." Chase placed his hand on the doorknob but then jerked away.

"What's wrong?" Star asked.

"The doorknob is warm."

"Warm?" We all asked in unison.

"There's probably a mutant on the other side." Ralph grumbled.

"Everyone get back." Chase ordered.

I was able to balance myself a little better but Hank still helped me get to a safe distance. Chase pulled out the gun Star had given him and pulled back the hammer. He looked at us, nodded his head, quickly opened the door, and jumped back.

"What the-?"

"Jinx!" I limped over to the threshold and embraced the shaggy fox that looked like a deer in headlights. His hand must have been on the doorknob because it was still frozen in that position. "Jinx I thought you were dead!" I knew I was probably getting strange looks from my newest friends but I was so relieved that Jinx was alright. I nearly picked him up off the ground I was so happy. However, he looked like he had gone through Hell and back again. There was also a nasty gash on the top of his head that had stained some of his orange fur, red.

"Yeah, yeah ok you can let go now." He struggled to break free. Once I let him go he punched me on the shoulder and smiled. He mumbled something but I couldn't quite hear what it was.

"Huh?" I asked. He mumbled a little louder but I still couldn't make it out. "What?"

"I said! IM GLAD YOU'RE OK TOO!" He put his hands on my plastron and pushed me back. "Great now I probably attracted every mutant in Moscow!" He threw his hands on his hips and looked around the room. "What's with the new posse?"

"Jinx, these are soldiers from the MMC. They've been trapped here for almost a year." I pointed to the wide mouth group who still appeared to be taking this all in.

"Yeah we know him." Chase said. "The troublemaker."

"We all, back at the MMC, thought you…" Jinx started but stopped after Star interrupted.

"It's ok. Don't worry; a search party wasn't necessary or anything." She popped a hip.

"Look, we can fight about this later. Right now, we have to get out of here." Yukon said.

"Good luck, the entrance is completely blocked with mutants." Jinx said as a matter of factly. "They're smarter than I thought."

"Well, is there another way out?" I asked.

"Well, if we go up another few stories we could get out onto the helicopter platform and jump down to the next building." Hank suggested.

"It's probably dark outside by now. Even if we did make it back down to the streets we would be bombarded with mutants." Jinx crossed his arms over his chest.

"We really don't have a choice. All this noise has probably drawn us to much attention. If we get locked up in a room…there's no saying we might ever get out." Star said.

"Then I guess we're going up." Chase led his team out of the research room and into the hallway. "Donatello, do you have an earCOM?"

"We both do." Jinx said.

"I'm hoping that once we get out of the hospital, you two can contact the MMC and get us an escort back to the main building." Chase led us back to the staircase and up countless numbers of steps. I had to move slowly with my injured leg and now I was carrying a box full of chemical supplies to go along with it. Eventually, Jinx was tired of my lagging behind and took it from me so I could move quicker.

"You know Jinx…" I said to him. "The farther we go up, the more I think about Potts."

"Why would you think about that dirt bag?" He said in disgust.

"Once you…fell…he got thrown up through the ceiling. Do you think he's up here?"

"What are you afraid of Don? It's just Potts. Oh wait, or do you believe me that he's actually up to something?!" he said with a cocky attitude.

"Quiet, we're almost there." Chase said to us. We made it up to the last level and into the hallway. Right smack in the middle of the floor was a giant hole with small, red stains trailing in the opposite direction.

"Potts?" Jinx asked.

"Potts." I responded.

"Maybe a mutant got hungry and…" He began but stopped after Chase, Star, Hank, Yukon and Ralph gave him dirty looks. "What?"

"They lost people to the mutants in the same way you're currently describing." I whispered to him.

"Oh…well…everything happens for a reason."

I face palmed and apologized for my friends lack of emotional feeling. Chase said it was alright but in my mind I knew that Jinx had probably just made five permanent enemies.

"The platform is just through that door." Hank pointed across the hole in the floor to a set of steel double doors on the other side. He walked up to the hole and looked down through it but quickly jumped back. "We also need to find a way to get around without being caught by those things."

"What do you mean?" Star asked.

"Down that hole…there's probably a dozen or so Class C's waiting for a midnight snack."


	13. Chapter 13

: Chapter 13:

"This is the part of the movie where at least two people die." Jinx shoved the box of materials into Chase's hands and pulled out his handguns and aimed them at the huge gash in the floor. It looked like a scene from Hell with several mutant appendages trying to break up to the surface.

"How long until they figure out how to get up here?" Star asked.

"Considering how smart these bastards are…I'll give em' 30 seconds." Jinx grinned while pulling the trigger on a large black wing that was breaching up through the crack. A high pitched squeal escaped from below and the wing disappeared under the floor.

"Save your ammo comrade." Chase ordered. "We have to get across and by the looks of it; it's not going to be easy."

"Well I'm open for suggestions!" Jinx snapped. "You know the worst part? Since this is the helicopter rescue floor, there's no other way around it."

"I'm quite aware of that."

"I would suggest shooting them but that might just make them angrier." Star said.

Suddenly, someone thrashed out of the circle we had formed and ran straight for the hole in the floor. He flipped gracefully in the air, barely getting touched by a mutant claw, and landed on the other side. He slipped a bit in the blood that was pooling there but besides that, he was perfectly crossed.

"Hank?! Way to go buddy!" Yukon shot him a thumbs-up.

"Yeah ok, but he _barely_ made it. Plus, most of us aren't very keen in the art of flip-jitsu." Ralph pointed out. "To make matters worse, now the mutants know we're what we're up to."

Ralph was defiantly the "cup half empty" kind of guy. However, even though he _seemed_ to be negative, he was actually just living in reality and he was right, now the mutants were aware of a possible escape route for us and I bet my shell and plastron they'll do everything they can to keep that option out of the question.

"We're each going to have to come up with a different way to cross." I said. "They may be smart, but any living organism can become confused and disoriented. If two of us cross differently, we can just make up combinations for the remaining people." I pulled out my Bo-Staff and slammed one end of it into the ground. I leaned back and allowed the wood to bend a little before springing forward and letting myself fly across. Just when I thought I was going to make it, I felt a feathery object slap me from behind and throw me off course. Instead of landing by hank, I smashed face first into the steel doors.

"Don, are you alright?" Hank helped me up as I rubbed the top of my head. Even though I felt a little disoriented myself, I could still easily make out the laughs and snickers coming from across the abyss.

"A flying turtle, now I've seen it all." Jinx chuckled. "I can finally sleep peacefully at night."

"Alright Jinx, let's see you do it." I snapped back while brushing away a small stream of blood that began to trickle from somewhere on my face.

"Very well." He crouched down low to the floor and got a running start towards us. I could tell the mutant below was thinking he would jump _over _the hole but instead, he ran alongside the wall and managed to get to the other side without any interference from the creatures underneath. "Suck it turtle boy." He grinned.

"Nice job! But there's no way I can get across. All this time in the hospital has made me weak." Star admitted.

"Maybe it's time we started popping rounds into them." Yukon said.

"We can't attract any more attention than we already have. Star, jump across just like Hank did but take Chase's pistol with you just in case. If things get ugly then open fire." I tried to ease her after the look on her face showed me exactly how afraid she really was. However, even though the threat on her life stood in the balance, I believe the urge to finally escape the hospital is what encouraged her to jump. With the pistol close to her chest, she summersaulted in mid-air over the hole. When she was at the peak of her jump, a mutant caught on and practically leaped out of the floor with its mouth wide open, ready to drag her down with it.

"Star!" It was like the entire room broke out in chorus as the mutants gigantic mouth seemed to completely wrap around Star's small body. Right when it looked like she wouldn't make it out alive, something happened that would haunt me in my dreams for the nights to come.

It was Yukon. I hadn't noticed he had jumped from his side of the floor until his body had already clashed with Star's. With this new great force, she dodged the jaws of the beast but Yukon suffered a much more terrifying fate. He fell captive to the monster's teeth and was pulled under into the abyss, not a single glimpse of emotion on his face. No fear, no worry, nothing.

"Yukon!" Jinx went to jump down after him but Star's body collided with his and sent the both of them bulldozing into me. Once again, my own body met the cold metal door. By the time we got ourselves together, Chase and Ralph were paralyzed on the other side and Star was down on her hands and knees with tears falling to the floor.

"He just…saved my life." The reality of the situation hit her.

"Yukon…" Ralph dropped down to his knees as well but managed to hold back the tears that were without a doubt, arising inside him. I also for some reason began to become emotional with the rest of the group but not for the same reason they were. These people had seen nothing but each other for almost a year. I couldn't even begin to imagine how hard it is to see someone like that taken from you in the blink of an eye. I felt I had an all new level of respect for these folks. They've gone through so much, when are they finally going to cross the line that leads from sane to insanity? I know I would never be able to see that much death and still walk straight.

"GOD DAMNIT!" Jinx suddenly exploded with all new levels of rage that I've never seen from him before. He took his two pistols and began clearing the chambers down into the gorge. With every shot he took, some mutant cried out in pain and blood even began to peek up over the edge. "Jump now!" He ordered the other two. Without question, they flew across and crashed landed next to me with my box of supplies still tightly wrapped in Chase's hands.

He was trying to stay strong, because that's what a leader does. I didn't care if he broke down in tears though so I placed my hand on his back and told him it was alright. He nodded softly and finally let out a few sobs along with Ralph who was right beside him.

"That wasn't the first time Yukon had put his life on the line to save someone else." Chase began. I knew we had to get out of here but I listened to Chase talk, hoping it would make him feel better. "Within the first week here, Pearl, one of our navigating agents, had wondered away from the group in search of food. Little did she know, one of the mutants was following her back to the hideout. Yukon had been outside the room trying to search for survivors when Pearl reached him in the hallway. The mutant attacked but Yukon lead the creature away and told Pearl to get back to us. After he had been missing for several days and we thought for sure he was dead, he returned back to us with only a few cuts and scrapes on him." The others managed a small smile while recalling the positive memory. "We will have a proper funeral. People like that don't deserve to die, not like this."

Star placed the palm of her hand on her lips and then raised it to the sky. She spoke her next few words in Russian. "Вы никогда не будете забывать." You will never be forgotten.

"Can we go before I start balling my eyes out?" Jinx's voice was slightly off pitch.

"Yes, let's get to the platform and get the Hell out of here." Chase stood up off the ground with a new sense of determination in his eyes. He kicked open the steel doors and led us up a few flights of stairs and finally, we saw the door that would lead us outside. We busted through it like it was nothing and took lungs full of the Moscow city air.

"Ah!" Chase, Star, Ralph and Hank all had huge smiles on their faces as they let the feel of the cold night air trickle over their skin.

"Oh Yukon, if you could only feel it." She began to cry again.

"This is better than I imagined it would be!" Ralph was laughing with tears in his eyes. "God I can't wait to get back to America. All this Russian bull crap is getting to my head."

"Like wise my brother. My home country is welcoming me with open arms." Hank said with a smile.

"Where are you from Hank?" I asked him.

"Denmark!" Hank pumped his fist into the air which was the first time I've ever seen him make such wild movements. "I cannot wait to see my family again!"

"I can't wait to get back to Sweden too, but we're not out of the woods yet guys. Jinx, Donatello, are you getting a signal?" Chase asked us.

"I'm trying right now." Jinx said with his hand close to his face. "I think something's interrupting the reception though."

"Like what?" Star asked. "There's nothing around that could do that. All the earCOMS' should be wired through the MMC, not the city."

"Exactly, that means someone has to be manually scrambling the signal." Jinx said in frustration.

"Why would someone scramble the signal Jinx? Come on." Ralph said.

"Someone who doesn't want us back at MMC."

The silence that followed after Jinx's latest statement was not only cold, but extremely negative. It was like we all had angry thoughts on our minds and it created a force field of hatred and misery. Perhaps the only thing we were upset about was the fact that we weren't as far out of the deep end as we thought we were. The celebration ended in a millisecond, our lives were still in danger and another one of us could easily die. I didn't think I could handle another death and I knew my newest friends wouldn't be able to either.

"Well let's find that source and get rid of it." Chase said, obviously trying to bring up hopes.

"I think it's coming from inside."

"I vote Jinx goes back in." Ralph raised a hand.

"Pfft, typical American strategy. Send in the weakest link." Star rolled her eyes.

"Excuse me you pansies, without me you all would be cooked green cards by now." Jinx shot back. The one good quality about the bipolar fox is that he really knew how to cook up a comeback. He better learn to contain them though, it looked to me like the gang had had enough of him and they've only been together 20 minutes.

"So how do we contact the base then?" Chase asked.

"It's ok; I already know who it is." Jinx looked at me and nodded. "It's definitely Potts."

"You think everything that goes wrong in your life is because of Potts." I shook my head and sighed.

"That's because it is, turtle boy." He pulled his earpiece out of the small hole in his head (ears, not a gunshot wound) and threw it at me. "I thought you were the smart one. Prove it by finding Potts."

"You don't even know if it's Potts!" Now _I_ was starting to get frustrated with Jinx. "It's probably just some faulty wiring in the hospital."I gave into his insults and took out my own earpiece. After beginning to carefully rewire the devices, I realized I was being played like a fool. Jinx wasn't your average mutant fox. He knew how to get you to listen to him and for me, all you had to do was make me think I wasn't smart enough, and he knew that. Sounds a lot like an orange clad turtle I may or may not be related to.

After wiring the nearly microscopic wires with each other, I was able to find the source of the interruption and locate it. When I walked around the rooftop with the pieces, the signal fuzzed more near the entrance back into the hospital then it did anywhere else. Jinx was right, it was coming from inside.

I'll admit it; I actually started to think it could_ possibly_ be Potts. His name never sat right in my brain anyway.

"It's coming from inside the hospital. It's a manual signal most likely coming from another earCOM, possibly Potts." I saw Jinx thrust his hands over his crotch and point it at me as I finished my sentence. His maturity level just went from pre-teen to pre-mature fetus within a 2 millisecond time frame. "BUT!" I was now desperate to smuggle his glory. "It could be unintended, unintentional, not on purpose, an accident." I used several words so they would sink into Jinx's brain.

"So…are you telling us that we have to go _back_ inside and find this guy so we can contact the MMC?" Star asked, sounding worried.

"No, I'm telling you that someone has to go back inside, find the location of the scrambler, and destroy it."

Jinx walked up to me and placed his arm around my shoulders. "In other words, let's go put some led into Pott's pathetic excuse of a brain."


	14. Chapter 14

**Thanks for all the continued support guys! I love your reviews and I love reading them. It's really the only thing I have that keeps me going and I want you to know how much I appreciate it. I got my first one-shot out BTW hehe. ANYWAY, on with the show!**

: Chapter 14:

Jinx and I decided to head back into the hospital, alone, to find the scrambler. Actually, I best say it was MY decision. I wanted to give our new friends a break and let them recuperate after the loss of one of their own, Yukon, although I'm sure they're very used to death by now considering there used to be eleven of them.

Jinx wasn't too happy about me going though. He said he wanted to slay Potts himself which I obviously couldn't allow. I had to remind him time and time again that we had no proof of Potts being a sociopath. We couldn't just waltz up to him and fire in the hole. It just wasn't that simple.

"I think he's possessed by a demon." Jinx continued to chat about his hatred for Potts even though he knew I wasn't listening. "I mean, if you're _that_ ugly_ and_ want to kill people who are better than you…there is OBVIOUSLY something wrong upstairs." He pointed to his head.

His gestures had drawn my attention to the large gash he had on the top of his head between his ears. It didn't look like it was getting any better but he didn't seem to be affected by it either. I decided to keep a close eye on him, just in case.

When we got back down the steps from the helicopter platform, we quickly leaped over the hole in the ground to the other side. It was strange though, it was unusually quiet down there. I didn't even want to begin to think about what was causing all the silence.

"Alright Don, where is it boy?!" Jinx leaned close to his knees and tapped on them playfully. Then he suddenly broke out into an obnoxious laughter.

"I'm a turtle, not a dog." I sadly had to remind him. His behavior was beginning to worry me. It seemed to me like he wasn't acting like himself AT ALL; no doubt from the nasty wound he has on his head. "Are you sure you're alright Jinx? Maybe you should go back outside and wait with the others."

"I'm fine! I just want to find Potts and inflict pain on him!" He suddenly raised his voice.

"Keep it down Jinx! You'll attract all the mutants in Moscow." I whisper/yelled to him. I pulled out our earpieces from my sash and read the beeps they were making quietly to myself. They had begun to become less active so we would have to keep moving in order to get a good reading.

"Come on." I led Jinx down the other staircase and onto the next level. I was extra cautious since this was the floor where all those mutants had been on. Strangely enough, it was completely empty. No blood, nothing. Another anomaly stood out to me as we walked along. There was yet another hole in the floor far past the first one we had come across which would have been in the ceiling on this floor.

"Another hole?" I asked myself in puzzlement. "Well then that means the mutants must have made the other one and this is the one Potts got thrown through." I peeked down into the circular abyss and saw other levels of the floor below, destroyed. It was amazing; Potts had got blown through almost three layers of cement. Talk about taking one for the team.

"Holy shit, what kind of deranged sociopath is he?! Now he can burst through floors?!" Jinx proclaimed.

"I told you he got thrown up here. I just wasn't sure how far, until now." I whistled at the sight and then help the earpieces close to my face. They were beginning to become active again. Potts, dead or alive, had to be close.

"How could anyone survive that?" Jinx asked as we continued down the hall.

"I don't know; you survived an 8 story fall." I said, as matter of factly.

"That I did, that I did. But when do I get to pound Potts?!"

"Jinx!" I stopped abruptly and turned around to face the fox. "We are not, I REPEAT, we are NOT pounding_ anybody_. I know you're violent but_ geesh_ Jinx, enough is enough."

"Alright bro, forgive me all powerful Donatello. I worship your every move." He mocked me with his hands. Now _that_ was the Jinx I knew and loved, a complete and utter smartass.

"We're getting close. The signal is going haywire."

We only had to walk a couple of more steps before both earpieces completely shut down and crashed. That was a good thing. It meant that the signal was only a few more steps away. When I turned to the right, a standard white door was presenting itself in front of me.

"Potts is in there." Jinx said while giving a growl.

"How do you know?" I asked with a bit of mockery in my tone.

He pointed to the ground where a subtle trail of blood had made its way under the door.

"Alright, after you then. AND NO KILLING!" I reminded him.

"Don't worry Donnie boy. I'm just going to decapitate his arms and legs. Then I'll kill him." Jinx busted through the door with his pistol tightly gripped in his hands. "Alright Potts! Shows…over?"

The room was empty.

**:: (Third Person)**

"Oh for crying out loud! How long does it take to find one guy and kill him?" Ralph impatiently paced across the roof with his hands tightly embracing his chest. It was starting to become increasingly cold by the minute and the remaining four survivors were becoming tired of waiting.

"Be patient Ralph. I'm sure they'll be back as soon as they can." Chase said while hugging his knees close to his chest for warmth. Star had found herself comfortable next to him as she also tried to keep her body from becoming a human Popsicle. She solemn glanced at Hank who was over at the corner of the roof looking out over the city. She was about to get up and invite him over to the warmth circle but then she remembered. Yukon and Hank had been close friends ever since they got trapped in this Hell hole of a hospital. His levels of misery were frightening to her. She was afraid he planned to jump over the edge.

"Hank?" She called out to him. He didn't face her, but he did respond back. "Won't you come over here? You're scaring me."

"I'm sorry Star." He said in a quiet voice. "Life just sucks right now."

In a moment, Ralph was at his side with his arms around the petite man's shoulders. Star wondered if he also feared for Hank's life like she did.

"We're all in this together buddy. We're practically a family you know that? We can go up to our friends and family and say 'Hoi, we literally went through Hell' because we did." Ralph tried desperately to cheer him up.

"Yeah." Hank hung his head lower. Ralph turned around and glanced at Star. She shook her head and raised her shoulders. No one knew what to do. Words just didn't seem to play on their side right now.

"Well isn't that just adorable."

A strange, unfamiliar voice caused the whole group to jump to their feet and grow tense. Star pulled out her pistol and pointed it in every direction she could.

"Whose there?" Chase called out into the night.

"It's good to see you comrades." An older looking man with grey hair and wrinkled skin peeked out from behind an old radiator and saluted the crowd. "Don't be alarmed. You'll be surprised to know we have a lot in common." He was dressed in a military uniform that looked badly damaged and sodden with blood.

"Don't come any closer." Chase ordered him.

The man willingly stopped and obeyed.

"Who are you?" Ralph asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"My name is General Potts. I was separated from my team only hours ago." His name sounded familiar to the team. Weren't Jinx and Donatello talking about someone named Potts? Yes, they believed the two of them were. Yet, the things they said weren't exactly positive.

"What can I do for you General?" Chase asked.

"Well, I happened to notice you guys as you made your way up here. I'm also sorry to say I witnessed the loss of your friend."

"Get to the point." Chase ordered, trying to keep the team's minds off the tragedy.

"Ah yes. I like a soldier who prefers not to waste time. I like that captain." He smiled elderly with his crooked, yellowing teeth. "I also noticed you were accompanied by two mutants." His tone suddenly changed from friendly, to downright frightful. This guy meant business, and the team knew it.

"Yeah, what about them?" Star asked, beginning to lose patience.

"The names are Jinx and Donatello, I believe. Long story short, I sort of need them and I sort of need them _dead_."

**:: (Hank's POV)**

Dead? Why would anybody want those two dead? They were, well, Donatello, was the sweetest guy I had ever met. Wasn't he trying to do us all a favor? Wasn't HE the one trying to find the cure that would cleanse this city of its mutant outbreak? It took a minute for everything to click in my head but I finally got it. There was only one explanation I needed to figure this Potts guy out. He wanted Donatello dead because he didn't want the cure made. That had to be why and I would bet my life on it. The questions concerning why he wanted Jinx dead were already answered; his behavior was through the roof.

"Donatello is a good guy." Ralph sluggishly chimed in. "But you can have the other one though." He got our little team to crack a few smiles.

"Oh my new friends, you certainly have a lot of learning to do." The old man was starting to advance towards us again. Star still had her weapon pointed right at him and it looked like her trigger finger was starting to become antsy. Chase stood his ground but it looked like he really didn't want to start a fight. Finally, Potts stopped after getting face to face with our leader.

"Donatello talked about you. So did his fox friend." He said sharply.

"Oh really? I'm sure they had loads of nice things to say." Potts smiled.

"Well the one wants to blow your head off. Oh wait, or was that both of them?" Chase managed a grin while Potts slowly dropped his. It seemed like Potts had nothing more to say, but then he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small telephone looking device.

"I know it appears you have made friends with them. I'm guessing that maybe they even helped rescue you. However, let's be adults about this and remember one thing. This is a _mutant _outbreak and Donatello and Jinx are in fact mutants. They may not be mindless mutants, but they certainly behave like the others." Potts cleared his throat and continued. "The two of them are criminals. They stole a report from a good friend of mine back at the MMC." He tossed the contraption around in his hands. "Donatello is claiming all that man's work for his own. We brought him out here to try and talk and come to an understanding as to why he did it but he attacked us, along with his fox friend." Potts sighed. "We even think he killed a couple of soldiers at one of our radioactive plants."

Chase looked confused but still held up tight against the old man. He folded his arm over his chest and sighed. I couldn't believe it and neither could the rest of us I'm sure. I never thought Donatello would be able to do such a thing. So it came down to that. Do I believe a complete stranger or go with my gut? We hadn't known Donatello for two hours so Potts alibi seemed compatible and extremely believable.

"I even heard Donatello abandoned his own family just so he could come here to become rich and famous. Obviously by stealing other peoples work." Potts sighed as if it were a great tragedy.

I hate to say it but I was actually starting to believe him. What he talked about we saw it a lot of here in Moscow. People came from all over the world to be known and discovered and they usually found it 95% of the time. They get what they want and then ditch the city for a "better life" leaving all their new friends behind like they were nothing. It made sense, and what better time for Donatello to do it then during a mutant apocalypse. I noticed he was extremely smart, maybe he really thought he could pull it off.

"What do you want Potts?" Chase growled.

"How are your communications with base?" The General asked rhetorically. "I would imagine they weren't so good. So, as a solution, I have here in my hands a wireless signal scrambler. I brought it with me just in case something like this happened." The grin on Chase's face suddenly jumped from him to Potts. "I'm sure by now you've figured out what it does."

"Son of a Bitch." I heard Star and Ralph say under their breath.

"So Donatello and Jinx were right? _You_ _were_ interrupting the signal." I asked out of nowhere.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. I had no intentions of keeping you wonderful people from home but I needed to make sure the mutants didn't escape from this hospital. I know your days here have probably been-"

"-Almost a year and yes, they've been more then _you_ can probably handle." Star swayed her gun around in the air in a threating manner. She did that whenever someone was beginning to get under her skin which was usually why we men feared her sometimes.

"I am terribly sorry about that, but now is your chance to go home. I can get you there too." Potts smiled happily. "I will shut off my receiver and you four can contact home base with this." He handed Chase an earCOM from his breast pocket.

"That's great, but we all know you're like every other person on this planet. What's the catch? Or are there no strings attached?" Chase asked while stepping closer to him.

"I'm afraid these strings are very well attached my friend. I only ask something very simple of you. Take care of the mutants Chase. All you have to do is put a bullet in their heads and your home free."


	15. Chapter 15

**I'm already prepared for my next series after this one is over. See, this is how much I love you guys. xD LOVE HAS NO BOUNDS!**

: Chapter 15:

**(Hanks POV)**

If you're just tuning in then I guess a summary of what just happened would be appropriate for you, yes? Don and Jinx ran back inside the hospital to find some guy who was_ supposedly _interrupting our signal with the MMC so we couldn't get rescued. While the two of them went in, the same person the guys were looking for happened to show up on the roof where our team of four was patiently (ok, not so patiently) awaiting their return. He walked up to our leader, Chase, and offered him an earCOM. However, turns out he really _was_ disturbing our signal and now he refuses to turn his scrambling device off until Donatello and Jinx are dead from their toes up to their heads. The only problem is Potts claims that Donatello is practically the devil while the rest of us think or thought otherwise.

"What's to stop me from putting a bullet in your head and just taking the scrambler?" Chase threatened Potts.

"My dear boy, what are you going to tell the MMC when they find my body with a bullet in it hmm? They'll never let you back in I assure you. I'm one of their most important assets." He smiled sheepishly.

"Maybe we can snap your sorry little neck." Ralph growled.

"Autopsy my friend, autopsy. Whatever you do to me can be detected by our top morticians and scientists. There's no way around it." Potts grinned.

"We could push you off the roof." Star said, making Chase, Ralph and I smile.

Potts simply sighed and looked down at the ground. "You really want to kill an old, helpless man? It's not like I'm asking much of you. This is your freedom we're talking about. A chance to see your families again."

"Yet you want us to kill Donatello and Jinx. Either way we're killing _somebody_." I could sense Chase was beginning to grow agitated.

"I'm _human_. They're not." Potts said.

His words struck me hard and cold. It sounded like a demon had spoken them. Now I started to see what Jinx and Donatello were talking about when the criticized him. As our conversation dragged on, I felt like he was not as human as he claimed to be.

"I don't think us going in there and killing those two mutants is the solution to your problem Mr. Potts." Chase stated.

"I think you going in there and killing those two mutants is the solution to _your _problem. That is, if you want to get home safely." Potts easily countered the remark. "Haven't the terrible things I told you been enough to convince you all to take down Donatello before he does any more harm to this city? Has that year in the hospital completely brainwashed you?!" Potts was beginning to raise his voice.

"Well…let's take a vote." Star interrupted. "Ralph?"

Ralph looked the other way and avoided eye contact with her. Whenever he did that, we all knew it meant "yes" but he was too embarrassed to say so. No doubt his embarrassment comes from the idea of killing two innocent mutants. I understood him though, we all were dying to go home.

"Chase?" Star looked to our leader. He looked down at his earCOM then back at her.

"Is what you said about Donatello really true? Did he really plagiarize?" Chase asked Potts.

"I am 100% telling you the truth sir. I would bet my old, broken heart on it." He smiled angelically.

"Not much to bet on." Ralph snickered.

Chase sighed and shook his head. "No. I don't care what he did. Our freedom isn't worth killing anyone. I vote no."

I could see Pott's fists clench at our leaders remark. The he looked at me and tried to smile politely again.

"I vote Yes, only because Donatello broke the law…right? Hank, it comes down to you." Now Star looked to me. I was still over by the edge of the roof with my feet dangerously close to it.

When I first saw Donatello in the hospital, I knew something was different about him. I had gotten a liking for that turtle and we had practically become partners, in my book anyway. Jinx, on the other hand, I certainly didn't like him too much but like Chase said, it's just not worth it.

"No."

"Great, it's a tie. Now what?" Star asked Chase.

"I'll be the deciding factor then." Potts nonchalantly raised his hand and voted yes. "MMC welcomes you all back with open arms."

"To me." We all circled around Chase so Potts couldn't hear our conversation. "I guess we're going back into the hospital. I know some of us with a sense of humanity voted not to do this but we do it together as a team, like we always have."

"We're really going to kill them?" I asked, dumbfounded. "I mean, couldn't we just hear them out? They did say Potts was bad news. Maybe he's lying."

Chase looked behind him at the old man who was picking under his fingernails and tapping his foot impatiently.

"Yeah, I think we can do that." We disbanded the circle and walked over to Potts who had a big smile on his face. "Alright Potts, you got your wish. You better be here when we get back."

"I'm a man of my word gentlemen, and lady. Bring back the bodies for proof though. It's not that I don't trust you, It's just business." He shook all our hands and wished us good luck.

The four of us walked up to the door that would lead us back down into the hospital. Things were either about to take a turn for the worse, or possibly on a slim chance, turn out with a peaceful ending.

**:: (Don's POV)**

Jinx and I had our backs against the wall and our chests tight with air that we refused to let out. Remember how quiet it was when we got down here? Well, I think we might have just found out why. A couple of the soldiers from our original group had been captured and killed by the avian mutants. Now they were all huddled together in another lobby of the hospital. We had accidently walked in without even knowing they were here. Even the smallest of movements could wake up the beasts from their carnage and send Jinx and I to an early grave.

"Now what brainiac?" Jinx scowled quietly.

"We have to look for Potts on the other side of that lobby. We could sneak our way around." I insisted.

"Yeah, sneak our way right to our deaths!" He whisper/yelled. "Forget it Don, we're not going in there. Let's just turn back."

"What's been up with you lately? First you want to murder Potts like your life depended on it and now you won't go through a tiny lobby to get to him?"

"It aint' a "tiny lobby" Don. It's flooding with class C's and I'm no good at killing Potts if I'm dead wise guy." Jinx snapped back.

"Well then what do you propose we do? Be stranded on the roof of the hospital for the rest of our lives?"

"Shut up turtle boy. I'll think of something since you obviously are defective in this specific field of work."

"Me? Defective? May I remind you that I'm the one who's saving this city in the first place?" I started to get defensive towards Jinx's remarks. "If we're quiet enough, we can sneak past them before they're done eating and safely make it to the other side."

"Fine. And since this is your bright idea, you can go first." He gave me a little yet forceful push.

Since I had a very wide ninja background, I was easily able to make small enough footsteps to keep myself from being detected. I prayed to God that these mutants didn't have as good of a sense of smell as the ones outside did. After all, Jinx did smell like wet dog. We carefully inched along the wall of the lobby with our hands close to our weapons, just in case. I was almost halfway across when I noticed Jinx was struggling to keep quiet.

"Psst." I said as softly as I could. "Jinx your making too much noise." I watched as his weapons slid across the wall and made horrifying screeching noises.

"You're the one who's yappin away." He shot me an agitated look.

One of the mutants lifted up its large head and sniffed the air. If it could actually smell anything, I really couldn't tell. I stopped immediately and tried to signal Jinx to do the same.

"Jinx stop." I whispered but he continued to move. "Jinx stop." I tried again but he wasn't paying attention. He was too busy eyeing the curious mutant and he ended up bumping right into me. How in the world the sound of Jinx's weapons on my Bo-Staff startled the mutants, I would never know. But whatever the reason was, it did.

"Oh boy." I gasped as all the mutants raised their heads and looked around the lobby. Some of them had bits of skin dangling from their beaks and their feathers were stayed an ugly red color. It really wasn't the most _beautiful_ sight in the world.

"Nice going no nuts you just startled all the-."

"RUN!" I grabbed Jinx just before one of the birds was able to grab ahold of him.

"Where the Hell did that thing come from?!" Jinx yelled while running close to my side.

"Don't know don't care!" I pulled him along quickly until we reached the other side of the lobby and through another set of double doors. "Keep going!" I said while running as fast as my legs would go.

"Don, they're gone!"

"Keep going! We're almost there!"

"Don…"

"Don't stop!"

"DONATELLO!" Jinx pulled away from me and pointed to the double doors. "They're not following us dipstick!"

"What do you mean?" Jinx and I carefully walked back to the doors and peeked through. He was right, the continued their feast and were completely ignoring us. "That's strange. They're intelligent."

"Well of course they are."

"No, I mean they get the idea 'why chase food when you already have some'."

"So?"

"Were they like that before?" I asked Jinx.

"No, they would attack anything that moved or had a heartbeat. Twitchy bastards."

"Maybe they're getting smarter. That's not good. We have to find Potts and get that scrambler so I can get back to the lab and make the cure." I said to Jinx.

As we turned around, we were greeted by four familiar faces. It was the gang, and they didn't look very happy. Hank looked almost confused and sodden.

"Guys! What are you doing here?" I was happy to see them but upset that they left the safety of the roof. "And how did you get over here so quickly?"

"We took a shortcut through…UMPH!" Hank got elbowed in the side by Chase.

"Don, Jinx…we have to talk."

**::**

"And then he said if we wanted the scrambler turned off, we had to kill the both of you." Chase finished.

"Well? You gonna do it or what?" Jinx tempted Star who had her gun holstered but protected by her hand.

"Guys I…I don't know what to say." I was so bewildered I couldn't even think. Potts had filled their heads with lies so they would come and do his dirty work for him. Most of all, I was shocked that Jinx was right about Potts. He _was_ up to something and he must have locked Jinx out of the hospital on purpose as well, hoping he would get killed by the mutants.

"Tell us it isn't true Donatello." Hank looked the most disturbed and the most saddened by the situation. He and I had become pretty good friends over these last few hours and I hoped that Potts' mind tricks didn't change that.

"Well I, guess I should start from the beginning." I began. "But you have to believe that everything I tell you is the truth. Jinx, you can help me on this right?"

"You know I can, Bro."

"Hello, my name is Hamato Donatello. I'm from New York City, U.S.A and I grew up with my three brothers and sensei. Our mutation story is one to be told some other time. About a week ago, I received a letter from the MMC summoning me here to Moscow. I can show it to you when we get back to my apartment outside the city. Anyway, I had no choice, my family was threatened if I refused to comply and they also said they would kidnap me too if need be. They_ chose_ me. I didn't want to come, I was _forced_ to."

"So why you then? Because you were smart?" Star asked, beginning to look a little guilty for some reason.

"Yes, I was head of a designing company for weapons and artillery for the U.S army. I also have an IQ of 637. Not to brag or anything, I'm just trying to give you something to go on." I finished.

Hank whistled and looked to the rest of his team. Chase gave a nod of approval and also managed a subtle smile.

"I want to apologize, Donatello. I actually believed what Potts said was true. I'm sorry." He said.

"Yeah me too." Star smiled and gave me a little hug. Ralph just nodded his head and looked away, looking guilty.

"Oh, so you all thought it would be ok to kill _me_ then?!" Jinx threw his arms across his chest. The others manage to show a smile of sincerity to the troubled fox but it didn't seem to bother him for more than a few seconds.

"So what now, Don? Potts still has that scrambler. We can't contact the MMC while it's still on." Chase sighed while the others nodded in agreement.

"Well then, I guess we'll have to pay Potts a little visit."

**Thanks for all the reviews!**


	16. Chapter 16

: Chapter 16:

Have you ever felt that when you walk, you could possibly be taking the last steps of your life? No, you probably haven't. As our regrouped team was making their way back through the shortcut entrance to the helicopter landing, so many things were running through my mind that I couldn't keep track of them all. It was strange for me since I was always so used to intense thinking and problem solving. Things flying through my brain this fast would be absolutely no problem; but for some reason at this moment they were. Whenever I was able to catch my breath and try to put the pieces back together in my head, the same thing always came through. It seemed like a ridiculous thing to think about but to me, it was so real.

The truth is, we have no idea what Potts is capable of. We_ know_ for sure that he has a gun, maybe even several, but what if he's one step ahead of us? What if his plan all along was to get _all_ of us back in the hospital so he could wipe us out efficiently? I know the others weren't thinking about these things, but I sure was, so you could imagine that my slow moving and awkward step taking was quite alarming to our group. I saw Chase and Hank giving me weird looks as the tips of my three fingers somehow made their way up to my teeth. As for Jinx, he was probably so focused on putting holes in Potts that he didn't even notice.

"Donatello, are you alright? You seem a little…as the American's put it…'on the edge'" Hank raised one of his eyebrows.

"I'm fine, peachy really." The speed of that sentence caused the whole group to turn their heads and look at me. Even Jinx managed a sideways glance. I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down before speaking again. I considered myself the support of this team since I promised to get everyone out of here alive. If I acted crazy, then I'm sure the rest of them would too.

"I'm sorry, I'm just worried that Potts is smarter then he looks." I admitted.

"Well of course he is turtle boy. Don't you Americans know a deceiver when you see one?" Jinx smirked. "There's no doubt in my mind Potts is one of _those_ people."

"So what's our solution then? End his life?" Ralph asked.

"Why must everything end in violence?" Hank sighed.

"I don't think it has to. If anything, we need answers from Potts. Not his head mounted on a wall. We know for sure that he wanted Jinx and I dead so that has to mean there's more to him then obviously meets the eye. We need answers, not violence." I proudly stated.

"So what if _he_ turns violent, Don? What are we supposed to do? Let him take some free shots?" Jinx mocked me.

"Don't be ridiculous."

As we headed down the hallway that led to the roof, I felt like no matter how far we kept walking, the hallway kept getting longer and longer. It was like we were never going to reach the end. Eventually, someone had pulled on my carapace to stop me from walking right into that stupid hole in the floor.

"Great, we're back at stage one all over again." Ralph murmured.

Jinx snuck up carefully to the edge, like he had done before, and peeked over the side. He raised his shoulders and walked casually around it. The rest of us got the idea that the mutants were gone and followed his lead. Once we reached the steel double doors, we stopped.

"Whatever happens out there, I'm glad I had you guys to share it with." Jinx joked.

"Jinx, you'll go out the door last for reasons I really don't need to explain. I'll go first; I'll try and talk to him. We all can't go at once or he'll feel overwhelmed and open fire. Any questions?" I looked around for any disapproval but received none. "Alright then, let's go."

I slowly opened the door and walked up the steps. This corridor was always colder than the actually hospital, but right here, right now, it felt 100 times worse. When I reached the top, I looked behind me to make sure everyone was ready. When I got the signal, I opened the last set of doors and slowly walked out.

30 seconds later, I was still alive and Potts was standing on the edge of the roof with his back facing me. Just when I thought I had the element of surprise…

"I knew they didn't have the balls to do it." He said with a low chuckle. "That's how things are around here though. We have to do everything ourselves. Luckily for me, I do it well." He seemed to be amusing himself but still kept his back turned. "I guess since you've returned, you know that I don't exactly have a taste for you, Donatello. I'm sorry it now has to end like this. You know too much."

"What's going on?!" Jinx was calling from the back of the line but thankfully Star hushed him so_ I_ didn't have to.

"Nice night huh?" I started with a simple ice breaker.

"Certainly is Donatello. It certainly is." His voice was enough to send chills up an infant's spine. "Care to tell me why your still here and not shooting me? Don't you know I wanted you dead?"

"Yeah, Jinx and I got the jest of it. Your little errand runners betrayed you I suppose." I stepped away from the door with my hand ready to grab my staff.

"I knew I couldn't trust them." He chuckled. "I may be old but I'm certainly not stupid, boy."

"Who are you working for?" I demanded to know.

"You really think I'm going to tell you that? Like I said, I'm not stupid. I know I'm not going to win this fight. That's why I'm not telling you anything." He said. "You're so smart aren't yah? Figure it out." Potts suddenly swung around and pointed a revolver at me. A heard a shot fire but I didn't know where it went. I didn't feel any pain but after a few seconds, I knew exactly where it had gone once an earthquake suddenly tumbled down the stairs.

"Oops. It appears I've missed." Potts grinned. I knew he was trying to get me to draw my attention away from him but I kept my eye on his bloody, torn up body. I pulled out my Bo-Staff and used it to launch myself into the air. One, two, three more shot were fired. I couldn't feel anything though; I was too busy rocketing right into General Potts.

He was closer to the edge then I had originally thought. When I collided into him, our bodies only rolled a short distance until we were both dangling from the roof. Still, even with both our lives were at risk, he continued to fight. I thought he had just admitted to him losing this fight. I guess he really was one of _those _people; the ones who refuse to go out unless it's with a bang.

Somehow Potts had managed to keep a grip on his gun through all the chaos and was now trying to point it at me. I was smarter though, more athletic, and able to pull myself back up onto the top of the building and grab the gun from him.

The look on his face went from satisfied to horror stricken. He had lost, and he knew it too, just like he predicted.

"Who are you working for?" I asked again although knowing I wouldn't receive an answer.

"Please, help me up and I'll tell you everything!" Potts was the last person I would expect to plead for his life. It was strange looking down on him but his facial expression told me something different.

"Turn off the scrambler." I demanded.

"Yes, I will turn it off now help me up!" He pleaded again with a grin on his face.

"I'm sure a drop from this height will break it anyway." At the spur of the moment, I turned on my heel and walked the other way.

**::**

"You bastard!" Potts called out as I watched his grip on the roof become less and less. After about another minute, his fingers disappeared and he fell down into the cool mist on the city floor.

I knew I had probably just made a huge mistake letting Potts fall. One, I didn't get a single amount of information. Two, he played the guilty card on me. He wanted me to feel remorse as he dropped from the roof and to be honest; he did a pretty good job. It wasn't like me to have just let him go. The feeling sent my stomach into a hurricane and my head felt all scrambled and confused. I felt different, and I didn't like it.

Not only that, but now there was another thing on my mind. There was no way Potts could have been acting alone. Someone else or maybe the entire MMC was in on something that neither I, nor Jinx (hopefully) knew about. For the first time in my life, I had that horrible feeling that no one ever wants to get. I couldn't trust anybody. The only person I truly felt close to was Jinx. We had been through too much together for him to be a traitor.

I ran back down the steps as fast as I could, but not before checking the signal with the MMC. It was clear and I could hear something coming through on my earCOM.

"Hello? Polaris?" I spoke.

"Oh my God you're alive!" It was Lemming. "Donatello? What happened? Where is everyone?!"

"Not now."

When I got to the bottom of the steps, Jinx, Star, Ralph, and Chase were making a circle around Hank's body. My emotions were going haywire. I was so messed up I just didn't know what to feel anymore.

"Hank?" I dropped down to his side.

"I think I was shot." He said in a hushed voice.

"We have contact with the MMC, buddy. We're going to get you out of here and to a doctor." There was no way another person was dying today. I would never allow it. I picked up Hank and carefully cradled him in my arms. He was extremely light and easy to carry. I led the rest of the team back up to the roof and spoke via earCOM with the MMC. Our ride was on its way via helicopter.

When we got back into the MMC building, Hank was taken away to get immediate medical care. He had been standing right behind me when Potts open fired. He was shot in the lower abdomen and the doctors believed he would make it through the 5 hour surgery it would take to repair him. Lemming was there at the entrance to greet us as we walked in. When he saw our extras he was struck dumb. I was as well, he remembered all of them. He said they were to receive honorary medals A.S.A.P and there would be a ceremony in the cafeteria as soon as possible. For now, however, they were taken to also receive medical attention, along with Jinx and I. I didn't remember much after that but I was pretty sure I blacked out.

**:: (A few hours later)**

"Don? You awake?" A familiar voice echoed through my ears.

"Yeah, I'm here, Leo." I spoke to him but I couldn't see anything. My world was pitch black.

"What are you doing, Bro?" He said.

"I'm just trying to do the right thing." I could feel tears starting to emerge through my closed eye lids. This was it; my body was finally starting to break down. "What am I supposed to do? You're not here to help me." I began to weep softly to myself. I didn't know how much of this Moscow thing I would be able to take anymore. People were dying, my friends were getting injured and now I had no idea who the good guys were anymore. I didn't know who I could trust, believe or even rely on. I felt alone, and hearing Leo's voice almost killed me.

"Why don't you just come home?" He whispered.

"I want to come home, Leo."

"Then why haven't you?"

"I don't know."

"I think you do know." I could hear the eagerness in his voice. "Finish what you started. You can't do that unless you wake up. Wake up Donatello."

"Don wake up! Wake up!"

My eyes snapped open I jolted upright. I couldn't catch my breath and I was pretty sure I was swimming in ten gallons of my own sweat.

"Don…" It was Polaris. "I thought I would never see you again." She smiled and wiped a cold cloth down the side of my face.

"I'm sure you would like that." I snapped but felt bad about it seconds later.

"What?" She recoiled and squint her brows.

"Where's Jinx?" I pulled the white sheets off my body and threw my legs over the side of the cot.

"Don, the doctors said you needed to rest. Did you know you were shot?"

"I need to see Jinx." I hobbled out of the bed and used the wall to support my flimsy body.

"He went into surgery a few hours ago. He had a massive cranial infection."

"What about the others? Where are they?" I asked her.

"You mean the survivors? They're all in the special care unit, being treated for dehydration and infection." She looked worried as she stared into my eyes.

"Care to tell me why you're acting so strangely?"

"I want to go back to my apartment. I have to get out of here." I continued to crawl across the wall until I exited my room and into the main hallway. A couple of nurses noticed me and ran over to help.

"No, no, he's alright." Polaris shooed them away. "Don, what are you doing?!"

"I want my duffel bag." My body suddenly gave up and collapsed onto the floor. My breath still wasn't coming back to me and I wasn't making an escape at this rate. I can see it now in the headlines: "SLUG ESCAPES HOSPITAL."

"Alright, I will get you your bag, ok?" She placed her hands under my plastron and leaned me against the wall. She stared into my eyes with deep dread and concern. I decided that I could trust her so I pulled on the collar of her shirt and brought her ear close to my mouth.

"Potts is dead."

"Yes, we know." A hint of horror in her voice.

"No, you don't understand. I killed him."

**Yes, Don is supposed to be acting like this for those of you who are canon freaks. Lol 3 **


	17. Chapter 17

**I was busy over the weekend so I didn't have time to upload. But I'm here now so it's all good!**

: Chapter 17:

You all know the story of Noah's ark, right? Remember, he was trapped inside a wooden boat/prison for 40 days and 40 nights? My next story goes a lot like his, except I was trapped inside a concrete prison surrounded by mutants for 40 days and 40 nights. Time flew but only for me since the doctors at the MMC thought I was going insane after my rescue. When I woke up after one of the nurses had accidentally given me too much sedative, I was told I had been out for almost 38 days. I was certainly upset, but not because I had just lost 38 days of precious living time due to someone's obviously amazing measuring skills, I was upset because they refused to answer any of my questions without Lemming's approval. Finally, Polaris was informed that I had awaken and quickly showed up at my hospital room_._ I was actually glad to see her, and not only because my duffel bag was in her hands.

"You got it?" I started to smile but had to stop after the muscles in my face started to hurt.

"I promised you, didn't I?" She smiled back and laid the dirty bag on my lap.

"The words 'I promise' didn't exactly escape your lips." I failed to strike up a conversation.

"I know, but when I say I'm going to do something, I do it." She laughed and then told the nurses to go bother someone else. Once they left, she sat down on a small foldable chair next to my cot. "Let's play a game. First, I'll fill you in on everything that happened while you were out. Then, you can go into details about what happened 38 days ago precisely Pott's downfall. Lemming had a feeling you wouldn't talk to him so he asked me to do it."

"So you're Pott's errand runner now?"

"You know, I was hoping that recent bad attitude of yours might have washed away by now." She frowned and then looked down at the floor.

I felt bad when I realized I might have just hurt her without even knowing it. Live alone with three brothers and a father and you'll understand why I lack female communication skills.

"I'm sorry." I said. "A lot has been going through my mind, you know?"

"Alright, you go first then." She looked back up into my eyes and smiled.

"Well, where do I start?" I asked rhetorically while scratching the back of my head. After a few moments of pondering, I finally figured out a way to explain to her what Jinx and I endured 38 days ago. I told her everything and I was sure not to leave out a single detail. I even mentioned the mutant we encountered on the way to the hospital. I also told her how horrifyingly cold it was in there that night. I went on to explain the collapse we all endured once we went up a few flights of stairs. I told her Jinx and a few other men were lost through the abyss that was created while others were thrown in all different directions. I went into better detail about how I met the small group of survivors and how one of them had given up their lives for another.

"I know. I was able to chat a little with Star while you were out." She smiled but then cringed a bit from the memory (I assumed). "I'm sorry for interrupting, please continue." She apologized.

"I can't really say it was a_ fight_ with Potts. It was more of an unspoken feud. He used words instead of brawn, for a short time anyway. It was like he was trying to get into my head and screw around with it. The worst part was when he was hanging onto the roof for dear life. He asked for my help but his face told a different story, Polaris." I respired in defeat. "I have to find out who he was working for if it kills me."

Polaris suddenly dropped her gaze to the floor again.

"What's wrong?"

She hesitated but then finally spoke in a hushed voice. "We've all been waiting so long." She said.

"For what?"

"For you to come to." Her expression looked guilt ridden. At first I felt honored that everyone was waiting to see if I was ok, but then I recalled what they were _really_ waiting for. I had _also _made a promise, a promise for a cure. I just can't get a break, can I?

I sighed and reached into my duffel bag and pulled out the one thing I had been yearning for ever since I got here. It was the photo of my brothers and I that I had packed. The very sight of it made me chuckle even though it was taken before we all became adults (and extremely messed up). I missed them so much and I hoped everything back in NYC was going well. Deep down inside, what I was really hoping for is them not wanting to kill me once I returned.

"You wanted to fill me in?" I ignored her last statement.

She sighed deeply and apologized once more. "The survivors are all doing ok. Hank, the one who was shot, recovered well from his wounds. They all had major injuries but nothing we couldn't handle. I think they got out of rehab a few days ago."

"That's good news. What about Jinx?"

"Umm…"

I felt my heart skip a beat. "Polaris?"

"He was also given a bit too much sedative." She began to twiddle her thumbs.

"What?! How in the world can you people mess up twice?" I was outraged.

"I'm sorry, Don. The nurse who did it was fired and returned to the village outside the city."

"Wait, are you saying the same nurse did it?" I asked, bewildered.

"Yeah. I think she must have been a rookie or something. No one has ever screwed up twice in a row like she did."

A revolting thought suddenly came into my mind. "Polaris, remember what I said about Potts being a traitor?"

"Yeah, what are you getting at?"

I didn't say anything and let the information sink into her brain. I already knew Polaris was trustworthy, but I wanted to make sure we were on the same page.

"You think she's working with Potts? Don, I think she might have just made a mistake." She put on a strict look and began to play devil's advocate. Polaris was never the one to believe the crazy idea's I came up with. But looking back in the past, they were all true so why should this one be any different?

"Has Jinx woken up?" I asked while putting the picture back into my bag.

"No, not yet."

"I need to see him."

"Don, no offense, but don't you remember what happened last time when you said you 'needed to see him'? You passed out on the clinic floor!"

"Yes, but this time it's serious." I pushed the soft sheets off my body and swung my feet over the edge of the cot. I felt more stable this time around and was able to keep myself up straight, even though my muscles were aching. "What room is he in?" I swung my duffel bag over my shoulder.

"Here, I'll take you. Lemming's going to fire me for doing this."

Jinx's room was only a jump and a skip away. When we reached it, we were instantly bombarded with nurses. Long and behold, they were flocking around Jinx who was trying to escape from restraints. Probably a good idea on their part.

"Get your skanky little press-ons away from me!" He was snapping his jaws in the air and barely missing a few of the ladies faces. I hated to say that I was glad to see him back to normal, completely.

"Jinx, glad to see you're awake." Polaris said with a bit of sarcasm. "It's ok girls, I can take this maniac from here."

The ladies looked more than willing to leave but warned her not to cut off his restraints without doctor permission. But, once they left the room, Polaris used a nearby scalpel to free Jinx of his bonds.

"Ugh, why do I feel like shit?" Jinx held one of his hands to the top of his head where I remembered his nasty gash had been.

"You were over sedated." I explained, briefly.

"What? Don't you people know how to measure?!" He cried out.

"Don't worry; the same thing happened to Don." Polaris helped him sit up on his cot.

"Oh good, now I don't feel so alone." He mocked. "I'm guessing braniac here has a theory as to why you people lack simple elementary skills?"

"I'm guessing a conspiracy." I said, changing the mood to a bit more serious. I decided to get right to the point. "Potts had to have been working with someone else. There is no way he could have been acting alone."

"Talk to me."

"I'm starting to think that Lemming might have something to do with all this. Yet, it makes absolutely no sense. He loves this city and wants the best for it, so why would he try to kill us if he wants the cure?" I pondered deeply.

"I've known Lemming for almost my whole life, bro. He doesn't seem like a good candidate. Plus, he's the one who sent for you. Why would he bring you here just to kill you? Whoever is in on the scheme with Potts had to have had a reason to stop production of the cure, just like _he_ wanted." Jinx swung his legs over the side of the cot.

"This is mind boggling. We can't just assume Potts wanted the cure eliminated." Polaris sat down next to Jinx.

"He wanted Don dead. Dead turtle equals no cure." Jinx stated.

"Good point." She nodded her head. "But why would he want you dead?"

"Well that's obvious. He's jealous that he aint' a sexy ass fox like me."

"Yeah, that's it." I chuckled. "Potts probably wanted Jinx out of the picture since he's practically my second hand man."

Jinx and Polaris nodded in agreement.

"So now we have a motive and a who." Polairs said.

"We need more who. We need more names!" Jinx slammed his fist on the cot. "The only other person I can think of who is awkwardly different is Morpheus. But he's locked up. How could he have done anything?"

I was surprised that Jinx didn't denounce Morpheus, yet Polaris seemed to like his idea. "Well, think about it. Before Don got here, Morpheus was practically one of us. Once the word spread about a new scientists coming, he got all distant and solitary." She pointed out. "Then, remember he tried to steal Don's report and call it his own? I say he has every reason to kill you two."

"That's a dumb idea, Polaris._ I _think it could possibly be Morpheus." Jinx said proudly.

Polaris brought one of her hands to her temples and sighed.

"I'll be damned…I KNEW IT WAS MORPEHUS! I TOLD YOU!" Jinx raised his hands in the air and shouted.

"Even if it is him, that still doesn't explain how you and I got over sedated." Now it was my turn to play devil's advocate. "He has no contact with the outside world. How could that fit in?"

"Maybe there's a third person in on it, the nurse." Polaris suggested.

"Potts, Morpheus and a nurse. Sounds like something out of a movie." Jinx chuckled.

"Well, there's only one way to find out. We have to go find her back in town." I said.

"But Don, there's no way Lemming will let you leave. He's been bugging out about the cure and now that you're awake, he's going to pressure you to make it." Polaris widened her eyes and sighed.

I also joined her with a sigh. I guess I had no choice. The only bit of hope I was holding onto, was the possibility that the creation of the cure will lure the advocate out of hiding and into the open where he can be revealed. Right now, the only person I was focusing on was Morpheus. I didn't know exactly what role he played in all this, but I knew that he was definitely a part of it.

**::**

Jinx and I were discharged from the clinic once the doctor ran some final tests on our progress. He talked about rehab for us but Jinx was about ready to die before he was sent out for rehab. Overall, Jinx won the fight and the idea of rehab was never brought up again, ever. I went back to Jinx's room with my duffel bag feeling happy to be home, well, somewhere other than the hospital, the mutant infested one. We agreed that we would both take guarding shifts just in case Morpheus or anyone else decided to pay a visit. I let Jinx sleep first and he didn't seem to mind the idea since he said his head was still killing him. I wanted to stay up anyway; there was something I wanted to check on.

I went into Jinx's living room and grabbed the little remote off of the coffee table. I scrolled through the settings and found "NYC, live." I clicked on the button and waited a few seconds. Once the image didn't show, I pressed it again. Still, nothing came up on the window.

"Oh come on you stupid-" I slammed it on the coffee table and finally, an image appeared, but it really wasn't an _image_.

The word "ERROR" was flashing in bright red letters on the window.

"What?" At first I thought my forceful actions had broken the system, but then I turned to another scenery to make sure I hadn't. The live view of modern day China glistened in front of me. That's good; at least it was still working. But why wasn't NYC working? I tried the setting one last time but again, the word "ERROR" flashed on the screen.

"Arghh…" I gave up and chucked the remote lightly across the room. It didn't make sense. Morpheus mentioned that he had cameras set up all around the world to catch the live shots. Had something happened to NYC's camera?


	18. Chapter 18

: Chapter 18:

I woke up the next day with a terrible ache in every square inch of my body. The pain wasn't exactly surprising to me; I knew it was the effect of the sedative overdose. Jinx, however, was throwing a fit in his bedroom. I could hear him pitching curse words left and right and the sounds of him falling onto the floor and trying to make his way out into the living room. Since I was too stiff to move, I just waited him out. Eventually, one of his orange, furry hands grabbed onto the doorway. He then peeked his head into the room with a very unsatisfied expression.

"I can't fight Morpheus like this!" He threw his hand in the air and then gave up, dropping his head onto the ground. "Cure me oh powerful one."

"Only one thing really can cure it; lots of stretching."

So Jinx and I spent the first 2 hours of our morning doing various stretches and exercises to help our muscles warm up from their 38 day slumber. We touched our toes, pushed around the coffee table, massaged each other's backs and even held ourselves upside down on the wall. It hurt so badly but it felt amazing at the same time.

"Here, grab my hands." As we sat down on the floor, I held my hands out to Jinx and told him to touch his feet to mine. Once we had ahold of each other, I leaned back and pulled his torso towards me.

"Oh my God!" He cried but there was a tint of laughter in it. "Oh my God…" His voice suddenly became high pitched. "Donatello, you can work miracles."

"It's just stretches." I rolled my eyes.

"Your turn." He suddenly pulled himself backwards, making my body almost tear in half. I had to twist myself in order to keep my legs from popping out of their sockets.

"Jinx!" I grabbed ahold of my thighs and moaned.

"Doesn't it feel great?!" He slapped my leg really hard where it had just been heaved.

"No, it doesn't!" I stayed on the floor while he used the couch to help get up off the ground. He wobbled around trying to gain his balance but eventually failed and had to sit back down. We started laughing together with tears in our eyes. His might have been from the hilarity, but mine was from the burning sensation in my now aching thighs.

"Maybe we should come back another time?"

Jinx and I immediately stopped laughing and faced the doorway. It was Polaris and Star; both of them carrying trays with a great smelling meal.

"What? No!" Jinx quickly jumped up off the floor but then winced a little from the discomfort he forgot he had. "Polaris…please come in. Bring your friend too." He sat down at the bar and pretended to smile. I couldn't help but snicker at him from my place on the floor.

"What are you two doing?" Star asked with a smile. I could hardly recognize her at all. The dirt and scars that were once on her face had almost completely vanished and her blonde hair was freshly combed and falling down her shoulders like a veil. I had to admit, she looked stunning and I probably had my jaw dropped since Polaris was giving me a dirty look.

"Oh you know, just some…morning exercises." Jinx raised his arms above his head and grinned at Star. She took one look at him and shook her head. That was _probably_ the reaction he got from most women. I'm just teasing.

"Oh yeah. You guys are probably pretty stiff from all that sleep eh?" Polaris said.

I knew Jinx was probably looking at me so I just kept my glare on Polaris. After a few seconds though, I could tell he was watching me so I fell into it and turned towards him. He was grinning and raising his eyebrows up and down. I just shook my head and tried to ignore him the best I could. Star was giggling though, as was Polaris. I guess it was up to me to keep this conversation rated PG.

"So, you brought breakfast?" I asked while trying to stand. Polaris put her tray on the bar and ran over to assist me.

"Yes, we decided to let you guys sleep a little late since you've been through so much." She said.

"It wouldn't have mattered. Don and I took turns keeping watch. We barely got _any _sleep." Jinx said while accepting a glass of orange juice from Star.

"Aww you poor baby." She teased. "I bumped into Polaris on her way up here. I just wanted to see if you guys were alright, you know? We haven't seen you two in almost 40 days, me and the guys." She smiled and pushed a stray hair strand behind her ear.

"Oh yeah, how are they doin'?" Jinx asked.

"They're good. Lemming is already arranging for Chase to be the new general of the squad." She smiled but looked unhappy about it.

"Hasn't Chase had enough of the city by now?" I asked.

"You would think right?" Polaris rolled her eyes. "Well, you guys eat up."

At that point we were expecting them to leave but they didn't. The girls had strange looks on their faces and Star was looking at the floor while brushing her arms across her legs.

"Is something wrong?" Jinx finally asked with a mouth full of sausage.

Polaris sighed and laid her hand on Star's shoulder. She took one tiny step towards the door and made sure her and Star were at a safe distance from us before saying anything.

"They're letting Morpheus go."

::

"THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS." Jinx was pulling on his ammunition belt while stuffing the last bits of breakfast into his mouth. He, Star, Polaris and I, were speed walking down the hallway to Lemming's office. "You didn't bring us breakfast to be nice; you did it so we wouldn't freak the Hell out!"

"Well it obviously didn't work!" Polaris growled. "There's nothing we can do, Jinx! We don't have any evidence that can keep him locked up! He served his time for theft and they can't keep him no more. Russians _do_ have rights!"

"The Hell we do! Don and I both know that that man is psycho! You know it too Polaris. Star, in case you don't know, that man is psycho!" Jinx was furious. He was too focused on getting to the office that he forgot to tuck in his tail, which was snapping from side to side viciously. "When I get my hands on him I'm going to make sure he will never see the light! He'll only see the darkness and the smell the brimstone in Hell!"

"Violence isn't the answer!" Star cautiously chimed in. "Polaris filled me on your hypothesis. I know I can't say very much but I knew Morpheus for a short time and I just don't think he would do such a thing let alone would _any_ human."

"You obviously don't know him then! OR POTTS!" Jinx snapped.

When we got to the office, the desk lady immediately jumped to her feet at the sight of the angry fox.

"Mr. Lemming is busy right now!" She tried to step in his way. Bad idea. Jinx grabbed ahold of her suit and slammed her against the wall. We all quickly jumped in to save her and succeeded fairly easily. She stepped away from us and fixed her eye glasses back on her face.

"I could you have arrested for that!" She threatened.

"Do it! I dare yah! Where's Lemming?!" Jinx demanded to know. When the clerk refused to speak, he slammed his fist on her desk with a great deal of force. She stayed straight though, and kept a very professional look on her face. She must be used to Jinx's _extreme_ yet noticeably _normal_ behavior.

"I said…he's busy." She growled.

I almost laughed to myself. I never thought I'd see Jinx meet his maker.

"Thank you Mrs. Joyce, I'll take it from here." Lemming authoritatively opened his office door and faced Jinx with a stern look in his eyes. "I know why you're here, Jinx. I knew you would be."

"Answer me a question." Jinx said, making Lemming roll his eyes. "How stupid are you really? HUH?! How many times did your parents _really_ drop you on your head as a child?! EH?!"

"Mr. Jinx, are you questioning my intellectual aptitudes?" He asked.

"Don't use big words that I don't understand!" Jinx spat.

"Yes, I see. Please come in. You too Mr. Hamato. Girls…" He looked to Polaris and Star. They nodded like they understood and took a seat in the waiting room. Once we were inside Lemming's office, we sat down in two chairs across from his desk.

"I would first like to say how glad I am that you two are safe." The way Lemming said that made it sound like he wasn't a part of the conspiracy that Jinx and I proposed he was. He sounded almost…relieved; like he'd been holding his breath ever since we went into the mutant infested hospital.

"Save it, traitor." Jinx growled.

"Donatello…" Lemming looked to me, completely ignoring Jinx. "Polaris told me Potts' story, the one you experienced. I can understand how you are feeling right about now and if there is anything I can do to get you to trust the MMC again, I'll do it."

"Jump off a cliff." Jinx snickered.

"Thank you Mr. Lemming. Please do not feel offended by my lack of trust for all these wonderful people here. I just can't be too sure until all this confusion with Potts is figured out." I said.

"I understand, Donatello. She also told me that you were thinking about a conspiracy theory?" Lemming folded his hands and raised one brow at me.

"Well, I personally find it impossible for one man to plan everything out like Potts did. Whether the trip to the hospital was meant to happen or the one thing they needed to finish the job, I don't know. All I know is that someone is still out there who doesn't want the cure made." I said with enthusiasm.

"I sense you have opinions? I can hear you out but I cannot consider them. That is my job as runner of this company. I heard you Americans go by the slogan "guilty until proven innocent.""

"Actually it's "Innocent until proven guilty," sir." I chuckled.

"Yes, well, we try to follow that same system here."

"I understand. A lot of the evidence we have is pointing to one of your lab workers, Morpheus." I began.

"Morpheus? That man wouldn't hurt a fly, Donatello."

"Well…"

"Morpheus is a no good lying son-of-a-bitch!" Jinx hollered. "There, I've said what I needed to say."

"What in the world led you to thinking this?" Lemming asked.

Jinx and I proceeded to tell him all about Morpheus' doings: the breaking of the atomic microscope, the stealing of my report, and the calling for me to die all throughout the nights, like Jinx had said. Jinx also mentioned Morpheus showing me a picture of live NYC in the cafeteria to make me upset.

I could tell lemming was deeply listening to the things we had to say, but once in a while, he would shake his head in disbelief.

"I'm sorry gentlemen, but there's nothing I can do. He's not a resident of Russia so I can't keep him imprisoned." Lemming began.

"Look Elbert!" Jinx stood up and slammed his hands on his desk. "That man is insane and needs to be kept isolated until we can prove it!"

Lemming calmly looked at me and smiled. "Donatello, in America, do you keep people captive until they're proven guilty?"

As much as I didn't want to answer that question, I knew I had to. Jinx looked at me with unrelenting eyes and scowled.

"No, Sir." I sighed.

"Point made Mr. Jinx."

"Argh!" Jinx swept his hands across Lemming's desk, knocking over lamps, papers and notebooks. He then busted out of the office and yelled at Star and Polaris to follow him.

"Where do you think he's going?" He asked me with much sarcasm.

"Somewhere he probably shouldn't." I sighed and got up from my chair. "I'll go calm him down."

"Yes, you should do that. And when you're done, perhaps you could begin construction on that cure you promised to make us."

**::**

"It was the cure you FORCED me to make!" is what I wanted to yell to his face. I couldn't though; I was already halfway down the hall chasing after Jinx.

Things were just getting worse by the minute. I felt like my entire world was spiraling out of control…AGAIN! I felt like the end was near. Not for my life, but for everything going on in Moscow. However, even though I was getting hopes about the end of the Hell here, I was also having doubts about_ how_ exactly, it would end. Nothing good was going to come with this situation concerning Morpheus. I've looked into his eyes; he's a Grade A liar and manipulator. For all we know, it could have been his plan to get put in prison all along. I couldn't confirm anything though, not yet, but soon. I really hoped it was soon. I just wanted to get out of here and get back to my family.

Oh I miss them so much. I miss the bright lights and the dark, star lit sky of New York City. I miss running across the rooftops and feeling free to do whatever I pleased. I also miss my computers and my laptop. Oh how I missed my laptop! I even missed my job for crying out loud. If I did return though, I really wanted to take Jinx (and maybe even Polaris) with me. They would want to stay here though and help get the city back into shape once all of this was said and done. I couldn't blame them though. If this happened to NYC, I would want to help my home place too.

When I finally made it into the main lobby, I could hear a major cacophony happening in the cafeteria. I ran as fast as I could and bursted through the double doors. I was quite shocked that only Jinx and Morpheus were creating such a loud ruckus.

"Die in hell!" Jinx was being held back by Star and Morpheus was being held back by Polaris. The worst sight was Chase and the gang who were standing on the sidelines watching. A little farther in the corner of the cafeteria was a few people and a handful of soldiers, just watching.

"Admit you're working with Potts!" Jinx growled loudly.

"I know not of what you speak!"

"Don't play dead-ass with me!" Jinx snapped his jaws and bit hard onto his tongue. "We all know you're a traitor, just admit it and I'll make your end a little less slow!"

Morpheus suddenly grew hysterical with laughter. Polaris apparently got scared and let him go. He fell to the ground on his hands and knees with his now long, dirty hair hanging past his shoulders.

"If you only knew, fox. If you only knew."


	19. Chapter 19

**I was really busy this weekend. Sorry this chapter is so late!**

: Chapter 19:

For the first time in almost 2 months, our whole gang was together again. We were all on top of the MMC building looking out over the entire city of Moscow. The sun was almost right above us and cast a shadow all the way out across the landscape beyond. Across the street, however, we could hear the sounds of stirring mutants so it wasn't exactly peaceful. I don't know if we were safe all the way up here, but I don't think any of us cared. Anything was better than being inside right now. Besides, I needed to work on the cure alone.

"Need any help?" Hank wobbled over to me. I laughed to myself from the memory of Hank trying to help me last time I needed it.

"I'm alright, thanks though." I said politely and continued to carefully mix my ingredients into a centrifuge. I had already done everything else in the laboratory but once Morpheus started to snoop around, I came up here to finish my work in peace. Unfortunately, by the time I got up here, I had a train of amigos behind me.

"I bet if we killed him all this misery would end." Jinx pondered while looking out over the city. He was standing directly in front of me to help block some of the sun from my eyes. "It would only take one bullet you know. Since his skull is so frickin hollow."

"His isn't the only one." Polaris murmured from somewhere behind me.

"How long do you think it would take to suffocate him?"

"The fact that you're having happy day dreams about killing another human being is starting to make me sick." Chase alleged.

"They're not "happy day dreams", they're pleased fantasies." Jinx corrected.

"Same difference."

I placed the last of my test tubes into the centrifuge and turned it on. I created three types of the cure to be administered throughout the city, injection, airborne and water soluble. This way we can get it to all of Moscow faster. I would need to experiment on the cure first, just to make sure it_ helped_ the spread and not worsen it. The injection would be done in a matter of minutes but the other two would take up to 24 hours.

Once the small, round machine stopped spinning, I opened the lid quickly and pulled out the first vile. Just as fast, I shut the lid and turned it back on again.

"I feel like this is sort of like that game capture the flag. Instead it's like "keep the machine safe from Morpheus."" Ralph stated. He had agreed with Jinx and his ideas of Morpheus's betrayal. Those two were probably more alike than a pair of identical twins.

I held my vile into the air and swished it around in the sun. All the others made their way over to me and formed a circle.

"Is that it?" Star asked.

"If it works, then yes." I responded. The injection cure was a very thick, gloppy oily substance with a bit of a purplish tint to it. It also smelled absolutely horrible but that was because of the mutant blood that was mixed in it along with the original chemical that was spilled at the plant. If this didn't work, I would be going home a failure and Moscow would continue to be consumed with mutant treachery. That or I would be forced to stay here and think of something else to create.

I dumped the cure into a syringe and strapped it safely onto my belt and held my hand over it.

"Well, there's only one thing to do know. Who's up for it?" I asked around. I was surprised that every single person nodded. "Alright, let's go find us a mutant."

"Besides Morpheus you mean?" Jinx snickered while receiving an approving smile from Ralph.

"Oh Jinx you're so funny." Star said sarcastically.

**::**

General Chase thought it would be best to sneak out of the MMC since everyone's suspicions are extremely high right now. We also had no idea where Morpheus was and we didn't want him to know what we were up to, just in case. Jinx was already upset about leaving the rest of the cure on the roof but we told him that Morpheus wouldn't be able to find it. Plus, we locked the door that led up there. When we got out of one of the building's back doors, we made our way out onto the empty street.

"Oh it's so beautiful out here isn't it?!" Ralph raised his arms into the air and took a deep breath. "This is the first time I've been on these streets in God knows how many days."

"You mean it's the first time you've _safely_ been on these streets." Polaris smiled.

"We aint safe until all these mutants are taken care of." He pushed a few strands of hair away from his eyes and looked down the block.

"So where do we start?" I asked.

"The hospital?" Jinx asked.

"NO!" All the survivors screamed and made ugly glances at the grinning fox.

"Haha! Ooh you guys are so…" He looked at their expressions and threw his arms in the air. "Oh come on I was just kidding!"

"On that note…" Polaris said softly and walked over to me. "We could start at the old warehouse down the street. Most of the daytime activity happens there. We would have to lure one out though. There's way too many in there to go in." She pointed to an old, crumbling building at the far end of the street.

"Alright. Let's go. Come on guys!" I yelled to them.

"Yeah just a minute." I heard Hank say.

"What?" I turned around to them and they were surrounding Jinx and pounding their fists jokingly.

I sighed with a smile and shook my head. As much as I wanted to keep us moving, I didn't want to spoil their fun. Life for them had been Hell and breaking them up would be like clipping a birds wings. Hopefully that bird is a class C mutant.

**:: (Back at them MMC)**

Morpheus watched out the cafeteria window as Donatello and his Brady bunch walked down the street in the sunshine. That turtle thought he was so high and mighty just because he could generate some stupid cure to save this God forgotten city! He ruined everything! That mutant wasn't supposed to come into the picture at all!

Morpheus sighed to himself and tried to remember everything he could about the UCLA. They were mad at Russia, but he couldn't remember why. They wanted to get even so they sent Morpheus to Moscow to dump a chemical into the water stream to kill all the people inside. Something happened though. Something went wrong. One of Moscow's stupid chemical plants leaked fluid after a harshly cold winter. Its contents also spilled into the water stream, completely reversing the effects of his virus. All people outside the city were killed from the chemical spill, which was a plus. But no one inside the city was affected, which was his original goal. Now, only the city's animals were affected! They all mutated into horrifying creatures and started to slaughter everyone in their path. It wasn't enough though because the city was evacuated before any more damage could be done. He had failed, and the UCLA refused to let him return to America. He was stuck in Russia with only one other plan in mind. Let everyone die, and then save the day at the right time.

The UCLA never said such complications would arise when they sent him all the way here; all the way from America, all the way from his home, from his family. He chuckled to himself at the thought of his pathetic family. If only they could see him now, with the entire city under his control. He betted they wouldn't think him such a fool now! His wife would be kissing his feet as he walked by. She would never bellow at him anymore, she would adore him, they all would, even the UCLA.

But, before any of that could happen, he had to take out the turtle and his gang before they ruined all the work he put into making all this possible. It looked like Donatello had the cure in his sash. Morpheus knew where they were going. No scientist ever releases a new remedy without testing it first. Donatello was going to the warehouse to find a mutant. That should give Morpheus enough time to put together his plan and execute it.

When each mutant is captured, it's taken to the elimination sanctuary to be properly disposed of. The MMC didn't want any mutant bodies lying around and infecting the city further. That part didn't bother Morpheus. He didn't care what they did with the dead bodies, just as long as they didn't try to make a cure with it, like Donatello did. That's why he has to be taken care of.

Morpheus would lure all of them to the elimination sanctuary. It would look like an accident too. No one would suspect a thing and he could go back to being the hero and when the time was right, he would give the city the cure they wanted. It was full proof and all he needed was one stupid, ugly, annoying mutant out of the way. And that wasn't going to be very hard.

**:: (Donatello's POV)**

"Tell me again how we're going to lure a mutant out of there?" Jinx asked while chewing on the end of a stick.

"I can't tell you again because I haven't thought of anything yet." I rolled my eyes while looking up at the disintegrating building. "Most of the mutants are attracted to smell right?" I asked no one in particular.

"I would imagine." Jinx answered.

"Donatello, throwing Jinx in there would be inhumane. Just because he smells bad doesn't mean we have to torture him." Star giggled once jinx turned around slowly and glared at her.

I laughed to myself then put an arm around Jinx's shoulders. "I was actually planning on doing _something _like that; except it doesn't involve anyone getting thrown inside."

"What are you thinking Donnie?" Polaris asked.

"I'm hoping that the mutant samples I used to make the cure can attract the others to it. If not, then we might just have to go inside, or at least me anyway."

"I have a better idea." Jinx shoved past me and walked up to the door of the warehouse. "I call this, drawing some _wanted_ attention." He suddenly pulled out one of his pistols and fired three shots into the air. My jaw dropped and as soon as it did, Chase was yelling and telling Jinx how dumb he was to have done that.

"We're trying to attract _mutants_. Not…"

"Not what? The authorities? The people? The press? THERES NO ONE AROUND!" Jinx shouted.

"Besides, we only wanted to attract _one_ mutant. Not the whole colony." Polaris stepped in.

"Only one will come. Only one is stupid enough to come out here."

"Like…that one?" Hank pointed around the building to a medium-sized dog that was sniffing the air in a nearby ally.

"Oh no, that's one of those dog mutants. They always travel in packs. We're dead." Star gulped.

The creature was covered in a thick blanket of hair and had a few spikes poking out of its joints. It looked ferocious but for the time being, it seemed to be alone. The dog wobbled out of the ally and growled once it spotted us. Saliva was dripping from its sharp teeth and its tail was high in alert.

"Don, you ganna just stand there or are you ganna stick that thing?" Jinx whispered.

"It has to come closer. I don't want to go over there just in case there are more of them." I pulled the syringe out of my belt.

The creature started to slowly walk towards us with its teeth sticking out like a sore thumb. Once we all took a step back, it stopped. Suddenly, out from behind her, came two smaller dog looking creatures.

"Oh my God." Polaris slapped her hand over her mouth.

The two little ones ran up to the big one and rubbed their backs against its leg. Their hackle fur was wide and prominent but they showed no signs of being in distress. They also looked like mutants, but they sure didn't act like one.

"It has puppies!" Star cried.

The mother dog looked to us with her snout raised high in the air. She was alone, probably because she did have two little ones.

"Can we cure all three of them, Donnie? Do you have enough?" Polaris asked me.

"I can try but I don't want to startle her. Mothers are very protective of their young."

"Please try."

I dropped down into a crouch and observed the family. I told the others to take 10 steps back and let me be alone with the mutants. Once they did, the mother dropped her tail between her legs and pinned her ears to the back of her head. I couldn't believe she wasn't attacking me. Normally a regular dog wouldn't risk a fight if it had kids, but she wasn't a regular dog, and she still wasn't attacking.

"They have a sense of parentship. This is amazing." I said to the others.

"Just cure the damn thing already!" Jinx hurried me.

"Hey, maybe Jinx can communicate with them. Haha!" Ralph chuckled but then received a rather forceful slap from someone behind me.

"Easy girl. I don't want to hurt you." I slowly made my way towards her. Once she started to growl again, I stopped. Then, out of nowhere, she lunged for me with her jaws wide open. "Alright, plan B." I reached for my Bo-Staff and as carefully as I could, hit her on the back to knock her to the ground. The puppies wailed and ran around in small circles as I jumped on top of the mother and injected her with the serum. I only put half in hoping I could use the rest on the puppies if it worked.

"Holy shit." The others ran up to me and made a circle around the mutt. "Did it work?" Chase asked?

"I don't know. I think we might just have to wait."

So we all sat down around the dog and kept an eye on her puppies while the cure worked its magic on her. They whined and dug their noses into the ground. One of them even let out a small bark once in a while. Finally, after about a half an hour, I felt a cold, wet nose on the back of my arm.

"Guys look!" I hollered to them (since they weren't paying attention). The cure had worked! The mother barked and spun around in circles with her tongue hanging out of her mouth. The hair on her body had fallen off and she was nothing but a naked animal on four legs.

"Ew! Why is it naked?!" Jinx asked in disgust.

"Her fur will grow back over time. It's just the body's way of getting rid of the infection." I smiled while the dog jumped into my lap and licked my face. "Yeah, you're welcome." I laughed.


	20. Chapter 20

**This chapter is double the length! (That's why it took so long) FINAL CHAPTER! LET'S MAKE IT A GOOD ONE.**

: Chapter 20:

We returned to the MMC with the stray dog we found and her two baby puppies. The entire MMC was gathered inside the cafeteria for an orientation on our next move now that the cure was ready to be administered. Their scientists were already working on producing the injection in mass quantities while search and rescue teams were sent out to begin what they called "Operation Moscow Has Fallen". Don't let the name fool you, it was the plan they came up with 4 years ago if a cure was ever discovered. Now that it was, the first steps were being taken to restore the city.

A huge party was thrown in the cafeteria for me. There was music, food and even dancing on top of the tables. Everyone was rejoicing and starting to write letters home to their families across the globe. _Moscow is back, it's really back. Long live mother Russia. _I even wrote a letter home to New York City telling them I would be home in a few days and that I couldn't wait to see them. It's been almost three months and I was dying to see their faces again and feel the warmth that came from enfolding them.

My small team and I stayed off to the side by ourselves while everyone had a good time at the party. I could tell they were trying to enjoy it too, but something about my unhappiness was setting them off. I still felt like something wasn't right. There was no way discovering the cure could have been as easy as it was. What about Potts? What about his accomplices? What about Morpheus? Come to think of it, I had no idea where Morpheus was. He certainly wasn't at the party so where could he be?

"Have you guys seen Morpheus?" I asked my team. Jinx was busy stuffing his face with cocktail shrimp and marinara sauce to answer but Chase was able to. Actually, no words left his mouth. He just stood up abruptly and dropped his jaw. I quickly joined him in the race to the rooftop above the MMC. We both knew where we were going and why we were going there. My airborne and water cures were still processing above.

"That son of a bitch." Chase swore under his breath. About halfway down the hall, Polaris, Star and Ralph were catching up with Hank and Jinx close behind (who was trying to finish off his last bits of food). We ran as quickly as we could and ended up bumping into Lemming on the way up.

"Donatello, Chase! Where are you two off in such a hurry?" He looked confused to see us out of the cafeteria.

"I'll explain later!" I yelled to him as we continued down the hall and up the stairs. When we got to the top floor, the door to the roof was wide open. "Oh God…"

We slowly walked to the door and hesitated before walking outside. My whole body was shaking and I felt like I was going to purge everywhere at the very sight of the afternoon sun. I did it though; I walked out the door and located the small centrifuge near the side of the roof. Chase just stood there while I inched my way over to the machine. I put my hand on the release and swallowed hard. I pressed the button, the lid opened and my heart just stopped. My worst nightmare had come true, both cures were gone and nothing remained inside but a small piece of white paper. I carefully unfolded it - my hands shaking like a violent earthquake.

_Dear Donatello A.K.A the pain in my ass,_

_You know who was here. I know you're not stupid. You're intelligent, that's why they got you to make the cure, right? Yeah, it is. Anyway, I know you can cure all of Moscow with your little needles and such but that would most likely take up to 6 years and that means ALL the mutants are out of buildings, the sewers, the streets, the alleyways and the chemical plant (if there's any left).Plus, there have to be at least…oh I don't know….a million mutants total? Some of them are even the size of small mice and mammals. You can't do squat without these other pieces. I also took the liberty of testing them for you. Don't worry, I left enough for you to make more of but I must say…you really lived up to your reputation my dear boy. You remind me a lot of myself, before some asshole came along and ruined everything. That's ok though, because I'm going to give you two options. One, I get my inside men to kill you and your pathetic excuse of a posse with the most painful and inhumane ways possible. Or two, you meet me at the Execution Plaza (your little cat friend will know where it is) and surrender yourself to me. Don't worry; I will give Jinx the cure so he can return it to the MMC.I would recommend making a decision soon. I am not a very patient man especially now that you've really ticked me off._

_God Speed,_

_Morpheus_

I dropped down to the floor and crumbled the note between my fingers. I squeezed so hard that I could feel blood starting to drip from the palms of my hands. I couldn't believe this was happening, but I also knew it would have happened sooner or later. There's always someone who has to screw everything up. I had no choice, I had to go to this "Execution Plaza" or so Morpheus called it. He said that Jinx knew where it was. Great. The last thing I wanted to do was get Jinx involved. He already wants to kill Morpheus enough as it is. Now he's just going to be furious.

**::**

"He mentioned he had inside men." I told Jinx as we walked into the lobby of the MMC around midnight that night.

"Don, Morpheus is an all talk no action kind of guy. Believe me."

"He obviously took action since he stole my formulas." I told him.

"I know wise guy. No need to remind me. It just makes me want to bite someone's head off even more."

The others hadn't known we had left. I told them about Morpheus's note to an extent but didn't go into full detail. To keep them from worrying, I said I would duplicate the cures in the morning and that it was no big deal. It was just Jinx and I against whomever Morpheus had waiting for us at the Plaza. To be honest, I didn't even know if I would make it out of this alive. Morpheus sounded seriously ticked off and I would be too if someone had me locked away. He mentioned that I "ruined everything". What in the world was "everything"? I guess Morpheus had a bigger plan after all. I guess I had seriously underestimated him in the beginning.

The walk to the Execution Plaza was crisp, and extremely exhausting. Not only was this Plaza nearly 40 blocks away, but we had to move quickly in order to avoid unwanted mutant contact.

"The MMC dedicated a small section of the city for mutant bodies to be disposed of. I find it quite ironic that Morpheus wants to meet us there." Jinx added. "We need to keep our ears perked and be ready for anything. Morpheus is one intelligent son-of-a-bitch."

The air was beginning to drop well below 10 degrees Fahrenheit (-12 degrees Celsius). The wind smacked at our faces harder than a horses' hooves hit the ground. It was painful but we had to keep moving. Literally, the fate of Moscow depended on it.

"Hang in, pal. We're almost there." Jinx reassured me.

The Execution Plaza was surrounded by a wall, a very interesting wall. It consisted of unused cars, sheet metal and rubber tires. At first thought you would think it couldn't do much, but it appeared to be very strong and durable. The entrance was another block or two away and we made it there at about 1:00 in the morning. Jinx pushed open the huge steel doors but not before pulling out his pistols. We swiftly walked inside and shut the doors behind us.

"Wow." I basked in the awe of this place. It looked like a junkyard except with animal bodies instead of cars. Two huge conveyor belts led into a huge pit of flame, which rose well above some of the buildings, in the very middle of it all. The only good part about this place is that I wasn't cold anymore.

"Welcome amigos!" Morpheus was standing on top of a tall podium near the wall of the plaza. He had on a white button down shirt and a pair of jeans. In his belt loop were two, glowing, purple test tubes.

"Alright Morpheus, you have 5 milliseconds to hand over the cure before I put a bullet in your head. If you're not dead after that, you better pray to God to kill you." Jinx threatened with a growl.

"Go ahead kitty cat. Shoot me. I know you won't." Morpheus taunted.

Jinx held up his pistols and faced them at the dirty looking man. He growled deeply, closed one eye and prepared to take a shot. A few seconds later, he dropped his weapons down to his sides and swore.

"Haha. I think your time with Donatello has made you soft, Jinx."

"Shutup! Give us what we came for!" He yelled.

"Why certainly." Morpheus grinned and held up a small remote. He pressed a single button and suddenly a loud noise erupted from across the fire pit.

"Morpheus!" This time Jinx didn't hesitate to shoot. A single bullet fired and landed right on Morpheus right shoulder. He looked astoundingly shocked and then fell to the ground out of sight. I stopped Jinx when he tried to climb up and finish him off.

"We have bigger problems." I pointed to the other side of the plaza where a large, full bodied, hairy creature was poking its body out of the flames. Its teeth were way too large to fit in its mouth and its legs were way too small to be carrying all the weight it had. Saliva was dripping from its mouth and other crevasses on its body were oozing with a green substance. It was like God opened the gates of Hell and let the demons emerge from it. This was different though. There was only one demon and it was Satan himself.

"So what class is that one?" I asked Jinx while pulling out my Bo-Staff.

"I have no idea. I've never seen that thing before." He fired a few rounds into the beast but it did little to stop it. "I think it might be the thing we came across on our way to the hospital!"

"It doesn't matter now. You go get the cures, I'll handle this guy." I spun my Bo-Staff across my fingers and prepared to battle. Right when I was about to, Jinx grabbed my arm.

"No, you go find Morpheus. You have more business to settle with him then I do. GO! I'll cover you!" He continued to fire rounds as I processed what he had told me. "GO! DAMNIT!"

I finally took off for the wall with my staff close to my side.

"Morpheus!" I yelled up into the podium. When I didn't receive an answer, I started to climb up. At the top, I once again found another surprise. He was gone. "Great."

There was a walkway all around the outside of the wall that was made out of flimsy wood and steel pipes. I stepped down onto it and looked around for any signs of Morpheus. I could see a tiny, very subtle trail of blood leading the other way. I decided to follow it and wasn't disappointed when I finally came across the injured Morpheus. He had collapsed on the wood and was cradling his shoulder to try and stop the blood flow.

"Please, help me." He begged with a strange expression on his face.

"Funny, Potts said the same exact thing." I raised my staff and slammed it down hard near his head to frighten him. He whined but I couldn't tell if he was just actually scared or just pretending to be. "Give me the cures!"

"Hahaha…" He started to laugh uncontrollably. "You are so stupid!" He took the tubes from his belt and chucked them over the side of the railing. They landed in a heap on the ground very close to the fire pit. "You want em' go get em'."

"I'll be back for you." I knocked him out with the butt of my staff and ran quickly to go help Jinx. He was holding up well but he wasn't winning either. The large beast seemed to be chalk full of energy and power.

"Did you get it?!" Jinx asked while putting another round into the creature. "Duck!" he pushed us out of the way just before a giant foot could crush us.

"No! Morpheus threw them on the other side of the pit! Can you hold up or do you need my help?!" I asked him while dodging the tail of the beast.

"No, I'm good! Go get that cure!"

I nodded, not arguing, and ran as fast as I could. I didn't get far though because the mutant had suddenly taken interest in me. It let out a monstrous roar and smacked me hard in the back of the shell. I went flying way off target and landed into one of the steel pipes that were supporting the walkway. I tried to get up but couldn't. I was pretty sure I had broken something in my right leg.

"Come on Don…" I told myself. Using the still standing pipes as support, I eased my way back onto my feet and scouted the area for the cures. It wasn't too far away but it was right in the line of fire from the mutant. He would easily see me. "Be quick, Don." I told myself again. I half sprinted half wobbled my way to my destination and landed on top of the tubes. I stuffed them into my belt and rolled away as quickly as I could. A few seconds later, another foot landed in the spot I had just been in.

"Jinx! We're done let's go!" I yelled to him but didn't hear a reply. "Jinx?! Answer me!"

"Don! Help!" I finally heard him call out. The monster let out another terrifying roar and reared onto his back legs. In his front paws was Jinx struggling to break free.

"Hold on!" I called out. "I'll get you out of there!" I used my staff to strike his captor but nothing happened. It was too strong, and I was only one, lousy turtle.

The creature opened its mouth and started to lower Jinx into it. He was still shooting bullets at the thing but it miraculously stayed standing. It was like the King Kong of Moscow.

"NO!" There was no way I would let Jinx die like this. I grabbed ahold of my belt loop and pulled out one of the viles. "Please be the airborne one." I unscrewed the lid and threw it high into the air. "Jinx!"

He immediately caught on and fired a shot right at the bottle. It shattered into a million pieces, releasing a purple gas into the atmosphere around the monster. The cure worked almost instantly, slowly shrinking the mutant down to size. It was now hairless and twice Jinx's' size.

"What?! It was a cat?!" Once Jinx's legs hit the ground, he used them to kick the feline all the way across the plaza. "Serves you right. Dogs rule, cats drool, BITCH." He flipped it off. Just like Jinx to go out with a bang, even when he wasn't going out at all.

**::**

A few days later, the entire MMC was gathered in the cafeteria for another, more elaborate ceremony. Jinx and I were fixed up of our injuries and healed completely within a few hours of the bash.

"I don't know how I will ever be able to thank you." Lemming had ahold of my hand and was shaking it up and down. I swore a few tears even left his eyes.

All of the MMC was rejoicing at 3:30 in the morning upon our return. Polaris was pissed that we had left and almost got ourselves killed without telling her but she didn't stay mad very long.

It was a protracted and very exhausting few months but it had all finally paid off. I was greatly rewarded with 75,000 American dollars and a one way ticket back to Brooklyn, New York at 6:00am today. I only wanted one thing though; I wanted it more than anything in the world. I only took the passport from Lemming's hands.

"Use the money to help you guys put everything back to the way it was." I smiled at him. "Or you could give it to the people who really deserve it." I turned around at the jubilation behind me. Hank, Ralph, Star, Polaris, Chase and Jinx were all smiling with delight and patting each other's backs. Jinx still looked battered and bruised from his recent encounter but he still wore a bright shining smiling on his face that I had never seen before. I don't think I would be able to let these guys go. They're like family to me. What is with me and constantly leaving my family?!

The party would last all night, but I had to get going. I looked at my passport and then checked the time.

"Well…your flight leaves in three hours. You better get going." Lemming put a hand on my shoulder and then brought it back up to his forehead. Suddenly, all at once, the entire congregation of MMC workers saluted me and started reciting the pledge of allegiance. It was patchy, but the thought is what counted. Even Jinx and the others joined in. I couldn't believe that I actually felt tears falling down my cheeks. I didn't know if they were from excitement that all this is over, or the misery and torment of me having to leave a place I had gotten to know so well.

"Donatello, we wish you good luck." Lemming shook my hand one last time as the crowd cheered and waved their lab coats in the air. "Величайший герой Москвы" he said. _Moscow's greatest hero._

**::**

A search team had been sent to retrieve Morpheus but when they got to the Plaza, he was gone. The nurse who supposedly drugged Jinx and I was never charged with a crime plus, she also had disappeared from the town. We never found out what his background story was. We also never discovered who or what started the mutant outbreak. Some mysteries were just meant to stay a mystery.

"I'll find him buddy." Jinx wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we headed down the town outside of Moscow where Polaris and I had first made contact. "He can't get away that easy. He won't be able to hurt Moscow anymore." He reassured me while helping me pull my arm through my trench coat sleeve. I fixed my hat tightly on my head and strapped on my gloves.

"I can't believe your leaving." Polaris was crying as we paraded through the streets of cheering civilians.

"I can't either." I frowned.

"Listen man you're always welcome to come back…you know?" Jinx was trying hard to hold back tears. "Or you could just stay forever." He gave me a friendly shove.

"Oh I wish I could, Jinx. I really wish I could but my family is already going to kill me as it is. You guys should come to New York sometime! See the big city!" I laughed to try and cheer them up but they continued to be sodden with melancholy.

We took a cab to the airport. The entire ride was completely silent and extremely awkward. I sat in between Jinx and Polaris and for the first time in my life, I didn't know what to say. They were both sighing deeply and staring out the window as we got onto the main road. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I wrapped my arms in the crevasses of theirs and brought them in close to me. Polaris smiled and laid her head on my shoulder while jinx coughed and smoothed his ears back with his other hand.

"It's ok _not_ to be manly you know." I told him.

"You know what turtle boy?!...your right." He wrapped his other arm around my back. "God I'm going to miss you. You're like my only friend."

"Hey!" Polaris reached over and slapped him on the head.

"I don't have any other_ guy_ friends, Polaris!"

"You have Ralph, Hank and Chase now, Jinx. Polaris, you have Star." I said.

"I know, but they're not mutants." Jinx sighed. "Only mutants can understand other mutants."

When we got to the airport, there were a lot of tears from all of us. Yours truly mostly, believe it or not. Even though I hated Russia right now for all the Hell it put me through, I loved it for giving me all these amazing new friends. However amazing can't even describe it; they're something even more important.

"Write me!" Jinx suddenly jumped up onto me like a baby and wrapped his arms around my neck. "You better write! Or use that hotline they have over in your country!" He held on for a good minute or so before Polaris finally made him hop off.

"I'm going to miss you." She was crying deeply when she wrapped her arms around me. "Thank you, Donatello, for everything. I'm sorry for forcing you to come here too."

"Hey, if you didn't force me to come we wouldn't have had all the adventures that we did."

She laughed but then quickly went quiet.

"Goodbye." She placed a kiss on my cheek before joining Jinx.

"Good luck." I waved to them and smiled. "Oh, Jinx." I pulled out my Bo-Staff and threw it to him. A smile instantly swept across his face and then a few tears followed. I then took off my bandana and handed it to Polaris. "Just a little something to remember me by."

She broke down in tears and had to hide her face on Jinx's shoulder. He too looked like he was about to start crying.

"Goodbye, brother" was the last thing he said before I disappeared into the crowd.

**::**

The flight home was just as bad as the cab ride to the airport except this time, I was alone and heartbroken. The first plane landed in Portugal and it would take another _longer_ flight before I would finally be back at home.

"One ticket to Brooklyn, New York please, Miss. "I said to the receptionist.

"I'm sorry, Sir. All flights to Brooklyn are canceled. Any airports within a 100 miles radius of New York City are all canceled at this time." She said.

"What? Why are they canceled?"

"That City has been overrun for almost 2 weeks. Where have you been?"

**EPILOGUE **

I was hyperventilating. I had to have been dreaming. I had to have been dreaming. How could my nightmare not be over yet?! How was this happening?! I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND! What had I done to deserve this?!

I was sitting alone on a bench near the loading docks when a man walked up to me and sat down beside me.

"Hey." He was American. "I couldn't help but notice that you asked that women for a ticket to New York City. About a week ago I brought a few passengers here on my private plane. They didn't clear me for takeoff once they discovered the status of New York. However, they said if I got enough passengers, they would let me go. I need one more. You interested?"

"Sign me up."

**::**

"So what exactly happened? Does anyone know details?" I asked the group of 6 people that were in the back of the plane with me. The thing was creaky and extremely unsanitary. I didn't care though as long as it got me to New York.

"I heard some dude is trying to take it over. What was his name…uh…calls himself cheddar or something." A heavy set male said.

"SHREDDER?!" I stood up abruptly and grabbed the flaps of his jacket. "What's happened?!"

"Hey man I don't know the details! All I know is that my wife and kids got out just in time before him and his creepos started executing people!" He held his hands up in defense. The other passengers only looked at me with a great deal of concern. They didn't do anything to stop my rampage.

"Has anyone tried to stop him?! Any "people" out of the ordinary?!"

"I told you I don't know!"

I dropped the man and ran to the front of the plane as fast as I could.

"How much longer?!"

"Sir, please sit back down. We're almost there, just another 15 maybe 20 minutes."

**::**

When we touched down in Brooklyn, I shot off that plane like a torpedo. My coat flew way up past my shell and exposed my green legs. It was hot out, but it wasn't from the sun. I didn't have to go very far to see the disaster that lied before me.

"No…" I dropped to my knees as I looked out beyond the river at the domicile that used to be the most popular place on earth. New York City was in ruins. Several major buildings had fallen down, even the Chrysler. Smoke was rising up way beyond the tallest sky scrapper and painting the sky an ugly gray hue. It was the afternoon, but it looked like it was night again.

"It's been like this for almost a month." The captain of the plane stood next to me. "No one gets in, no one gets out. If you try, they kill you." He patted my shoulder and then walked away.

"Guys…" Tears fell from my eyes, and this time, I knew it was from the misery and torment. "NO!"

**And that's the end *Sad Face* Thank you everyone for reading! I hope you enjoyed it and sorry the last few chapters were really late. I don't know when I will have another story up yet since my life is getting hectic right now. Don't worry though. I'll be on the sidelines! Thank you to everyone who reviewed and showed me how much they liked the story! Even if you didn't review, I know you liked it hehe! See you soon!**


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